Mark of Athena
by sistergrimm97
Summary: "Wisdom's daughter walks alone, the Mark of Athena burns through Rome." They both thought that, after eight months of being apart,that to be reunited was too good to be true; they were right. I do not own anything but the plot line. Rated T just cause xD
1. Percy I

This couldn't be happening. The _Argo II _should've been landing with the grace of an eagle, dignity and pride emanating from long distances. It was supposed to drop every single Roman in this legion's jaw near the ground and stumble over their words with beautified awe. The immaculate dragon's head that stood tall at the stern was meant to stand for courage, and the sunlight that kissed its golden skin was to reflect beautiful diamonds.

Percy was aware of this; he was as sure of it as he was sure of his friends. That ship was to be their transportation to Rome, a second home as they fought to save their first. It had been created by many so that it would be able to withstand battles, fights, laughter, and the own powers of the demigods it was soon to harbour.

Percy knew all this, and yet as he watched a gryphon drop a huge rock into the stern, he couldn't help but feel dread is though it had been he whose middle had been pierced with a rock.

It had all started much too spontaneously for his liking, though had it been up to him Percy would've manipulated the system to keep it from happening period. He had watched the gleaming hull come into view and threw his arms around Hazel and Frank, encouraging them enthusiastically for them to meet "his other family."

The clouds were darkening, but Percy found nothing exceptionally unnerving about that; how could he, when the day was looking up so much? He closed his eyes and allowed the fresh air to overtake his senses, filling them with oxygen as pure as Artemis herself. Faces mingled with the scent of cedar trees and eucalyptus; Grover with his reed pipes, spouting out a song that made the strawberries on Half-Blood Hill writhe in botanical agony. Thalia in full battle armour was conjured into his mind, her Medusa shield frightening each and every beast that dared attack her. He saw his rival Clarisse, whom had been on speaking terms with him since the Manhattan fight, and Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf, which brought tears to his eyes.

Each and every camper he saw in his mind like a film roll brought renewed determination to his already stubborn mind, but there was one face that kept coming up from the shadows. She had golden curls that were as wild as the young woman's personality, but her pursed lips showed her serious side as though she were a tame lion mountain. Everything from her flushed cheeks to the streak of gray in her bangs, or the way she bit her lip when she was anxious and played with her camp necklace when she concentrated... Everything was just so harmonious, like an artist had thrown together a million colours together, hoped they would make something decent, and then out from the shadows came the daughter of Athena in her full glory. But do you know what the most attention-catching thing was about Annabeth Chase? Her eyes; they were such a startling gray hue you'd have thought there was a constant tornado going on in her head.

Most people feared these eyes; they were intimidating and ruthless, and stopped at nothing to get what was needed to protect their friends. Not Percy though; he loved staring into those eyes, loved watching as an idea formed inside each one before exploding out her mouth in a flurry of words. He hated whenever they began pooling with water, and cringed internally when they looked at him with concern or disapproval. Above all things, he despised not seeing them for eight months, and was anxious to lose himself in them once more.

Though he looked quite content with the _Argo II_'s arrival, Percy could tell everyone was skittish and apprehensive. It was legendary that, for as long as anyone could remember, Greek and Roman demigods were sworn enemies. Armed archers from the Apollo cabin held their arrows trained on the boat, swords masters with their _gladius _held out towards the landing sheet they had set up for it warily. To the side, Octavian was barking orders that sounded a lot like battle strategies, but Reyna drowned him out with her insistence that no harm would come to them. Percy clenched his teeth and frowned at the ever darkening sky. Frank shuffled from foot to foot nervously, but Hazel calmed him down and wrapped her fingers around his tightly.

"Percy, you're sure this is the Greek camp, right?" She asked, squinting slightly as a strong breeze came up. "I mean, there's no way this is another monster invasion?"

"I'm sure, guys," the son of Poseidon replied, his voice raised to be heard over the gust of air. "This is my family, my _first _family. I trust them as much as I trust you! It's time you do the same." Hazel nodded, but Frank was staring at the sky, eyes narrowed as he watched the clouds begin to congregate to one place like a herd of sheep.

"Huh," he mumbled, his voice carried away in the wind. He tapped his friends on the shoulders and leaned towards them. "Is it just me, or do those clouds look unnaturally stormy?"

"Don't be silly, Frank," the dark skinned female of the group exclaimed. "It's just a bunch of clouds. It's not like they can turn into –!"

Her protests were cut off by a sickening flash of lightning. The streak hit the ground near the Romans, and everyone was knocked off of their feet. People screamed, while others scrambled about madly for their weapons. Percy looked at his shocked friends, and watched as monsters came out from both the earth.

Dozens upon dozens of these hybrids began pooling out of the fissure the lightning had created, and Percy took in the sight of them. They were snakes with chicken heads, their bodies a poisonous green and their beaks as bright as Imperial Gold itself. Their eyes... Percy couldn't even bring himself to look at their eyes. Behind him, Hazel gasped.

"Those are cockatrice!" She cried, pulling out her _spatha_ and raising her voice for the whole camp to hear. "They can turn you to stone if you look them directly in the eyes!" Panic immediately ensued, with kids scrambling around for their weapons, avoiding the chicken-snake eyes.

"Use reflections to beat them!" Percy screamed, uncapping Riptide and pulling Hazel and Frank behind a boulder. "Hazel, what are these things and why do they remind me of ex step-father Gabe when he doesn't shave?"

"Cockatrice... They're like the original basilisks. Roman mythology derived the basilisks from them because it made more sense to just keep it a full snake, but the Gods weren't pleased and kept both the cockatrice and the basilisks. Monster class told me how to beat them, but I'm blanking out."

Frank snapped his fingers, his eyes lighting up in a wild manner. "If they're like basilisks, then I should be able to kill them as a weasel, right?" Hazel nodded slowly, her eyes full of concern, but Percy shook his head.

"There are too many of them. You might be able to take out two or three, but you'll get surrounded eventually." Percy looked up at the _Argo II, _which was still two hundred feet above ground. "Here's the plan; Frank, you make sure everyone knows not to look into their eyes. Hazel, defend him and try to remember how to destroy the cockatrice. I'm going to see if there's any way to get that boat down here faster for reinforcements."

The trio got out from under their hiding spots, but just as they stood up, a crash of thunder rocked the skies. A tornado began forming in the clouds, and Percy watched in horror as gryphon upon gryphon came out from the dangerous weather. They held massive boulders and began circling the Field of Mars. They began dropping their boulders around the Romans, and every camper frantically jumped out of the way.

Percy watched one with growing dread as it hovered above the _Argo II. _Like a slow motion movie, he saw the talons release the bomb like rock and felt as though he was struck through the heart with an iron spear as it crashed through the boat.

All the Roman campers were either entangled with a cockatrice or mesmerized by the falling _Argo II_, the dragon head hitting the ground first. With a burst of speed, the ship crashed against the grounds of the camp, a sickening crack of wood echoing a million times. Percy's vision went red with rage, his body reacting solely on his protectiveness for the campers he had known since twelve. He rushed forward, a lion's roar ripped out of his throat. Surroundings and voices mixed together, though he was just barely aware of Hazel calling out to him.

Suddenly, he felt someone strong wrap their arms around his waist and tackle him to the ground. He fought against it, but whoever had knocked him down was as strong as a heavy weight boxing champion. He landed a blow to their ribs, and the moment he felt them slacken, he jumped forward once again, only to be pulled down by his ankles.

Percy looked on, helpless to aid the ones he loved, as the back of the ship burst into flames. Many of the campers had gotten out; The Stoll Brothers, Katie Gardner, Grover and Thalia... So many people rushed out from the rubble, but none were the girl with the stormy gray eyes. He began to fight his captor again, until he felt them pick him up by the waist. Hazel was next to him in a second.

"Frank, keep him secure." His grip tightened, and Percy felt himself struggle even harder. "Percy, calm down."

"Annabeth!" He screeched, his voice cracking from emotion. He could see Grover running towards him, pain and concern on his face, but he kept focused on the fallen boat. "Annabeth! _Annabeth!"_

"Percy, listen to me," Frank said from behind him. "It's like you told me before; you go in there alone, and you're going to _die. _You need help, and you know it. Let us help you, let us fight alongs –!"

"Percy!" A deep teenage voice bleated, hoofed footsteps finally ceasing as Grover dropped next to him and fumbled with his words. "Percy, thank the Gods! We thought, we thought..." With that, the satyr pulled him into a huge hug, to which Percy immediately returned. It felt so good to have his friend back, and he felt a few drops of water hit his back – Grover had always been so emotional. Suddenly, he pulled back and looked the son of Poseidon up and down.

"Do you... Do you remember me?"

"Grover, it's kind of hard to forget someone who's constantly chomping down on tin cans and aluminum foil." Percy smiled slightly, before high fiving his best friend. "These are my friends, Hazel Levesque, daughter of Plu – Hades, and Frank Zhang, son of Ares."

Grover's eyes widened. "You're friends with a child of Ares? Since when are you so forgiving to the god of war?" Frank looked hurt, but Hazel eyed the horns on top of Grover's head.

"You're a satyr," she stated, her eyes wide with realization. "That's what Don meant by an empathy link, wasn't it. When you told me you had a satyr protector, I should've realized..."

"It doesn't matter right now, what matters is who's in that boat." Frank said, his eyes dark and serious. "We need to get them out of there, and soon. Grover, how many people are left in there?"

"At least a dozen, give or take a few," the satyr answered, his tongue licking his teeth nervously. "But Percy, listen; Annabeth was downstairs where the fire was when I last saw her." Percy's eyes glazed over, staring straight ahead as though he had already been turned to stone. Frank flicked him in the ear and he winced, being brought back to the present.

"Okay, listen up." Frank ordered, clapping his hands together. "This is what we're going to do; we're pulling the War Games strategy." Hazel nodded grimly, while Percy just shot a quick noise of approval.

"Um, what's that?" Grover asked quietly, his cheeks burning. Oh, how Percy had missed him. But as much as he loved having his old friend back, he was really worried about Annabeth. They quickly filled him in, and as Hazel put her hands against the ground with a concentrated look, Percy couldn't help but fear the worst.

_Please be okay, Wise Girl. _

**yes, I decided to write the Percy Jackson fic; it's killing me not to! Yes, I will still write All I Feel is You and the third installment to the Call at Night trilogy, and yes, starting now, I will be answering reviews again in my stories, because of popular demand AND because I love answering :heart: Tis so much fun! :D**

**HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THISSSSS :)  
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	2. Percy II

Grover, Percy and Frank formed a human-like shield around Hazel, their eyes roaming the battle as the daughter of Pluto searched for an underground tunnel. None of the boys liked what they saw; it was as if someone had thrown a giant down onto the valley. Campers from both Greek and Roman heritage alike fought the creatures with fervour, and few were seriously injured. The trees were alight with the flames of battle, and the smell of burning firewood filled the air with an unsettling odour. The _Argo II _was smoking from the inside, confirming Grover's story; the four of them had only a limited amount of time to save the campers trapped in the hull of the boat, until they were licked by fire's tongue.

Percy clicked his pen open and surveyed the Field of Mars. He allowed the smallest smiles to capture his lips as he watched the Stoll brothers fight a cockatrice who looked as though it had been injected with steroids. Connor quickly got its attention with his eyes closed, and just when it looked as though he would be eaten by the reptilian beast, Travis took off its head in one quick sweep of his sword.

He saw something sail past him in a wide arc, glittering with the sun's kiss as Frank let the arrow fly into a gryphon's eye. It let out a screech as it fell to the ground with a bone shattering_ thud_. Grover pulled out his reed pipes and played a quick tune that sounded suspiciously of Green Day's song, _Boulevard of Broken Dreams_. In seconds, the animals were knee deep in the Field of Mars' rich earth. Apollo's archers let loose a volley of arrows, each one landing with deadly accuracy on the flying creatures. It wasn't to be a battle lost by the demigods, yet Percy had an unsettling feeling in his gut that this wasn't going to end the way he wanted it to. The cohorts began advancing with their _gladius _and Imperial Gold spears, sending the cockatrice and gryphons straight back to the depths of Tartarus.

He cast a quick glance at Hazel, her eyes shut in concentration as her nimble fingers darted around the grass quickly. Her eyes flew open, and the son of Neptune watched as her eyes registered something different. Her eyes looked as though two gold nuggets had replaced her eyes; there was no life in them whatsoever. She was so focussed on her task; Percy anxiously wondered whether she had remembered to breathe in her plight to save his family.

"Hazel," Grover called over his shoulder, his reed pipes close to his mouth and making an incomprehensible tune every time he spoke. "We're kind of in a rush here; have you found anyth –"

"There!" The daughter of Pluto suddenly cried out. Frank went to look at her, but a cockatrice suddenly began advancing on them. He clutched at his bow and looked at the ground underneath the serpent's slithering body. He knocked an arrow and, eyes nearly closed so as to resist the temptation of looking at the chicken head, pulled the bowstring back. He made to let the weapon sail into the hybrid's body, but he never got the chance; Hazel pulled her arm back and slammed her fist into the ground. Percy winced until he realized her hand went straight through the ground, the surface rippling like a pond. Frank stared at her, and the chicken-snake used the distraction to lunge.

Rapid as quick sand, the earth swallowed the group up. Percy saw the cockatrice sail over them harmlessly before he was completely immersed in the dark soil.

For a moment, Percy panicked. His arms thrashed wildly around him, but each movement felt as though he were floating in a vat of molasses. He dared not breathe; for he worried the earth would infiltrate his lungs. He was painfully reminded of Alaska, how he became the victim to Mother Nature then, too.

Then, he was next to his friends in a deep cavern. Frank was holding Hazel as she coughed violently, bits of dirt spewing out of her mouth every so often. Frank himself looked pale as he spotted his other friend, giving him a worried frown. Percy chose to ignore it as he walked over to Grover, who was on his knees and trembling slightly.

"Grover, are you okay?" His old friend shook his head weakly and looked up at Percy with wide, terrified eyes.

"No, man, that was scary," the satyr cried, his voice cracking a bit. "When I got pulled down here, I thought maybe… you know, we were going back –"

"To the labyrinth?" Percy asked, realization hitting him full force. Grover nodded weakly; Percy nearly forgot that his friend had some exceptionally horrifying experiences with caves and tunnels underground. When the Jackson kid had been fifteen, he and Annabeth had gone on an unauthorized quest with Tyson to save their young protector from the clutches of Polyphemus, a fifty foot tall Cyclops who had mistook him for his bride-to-be. When they were fifteen, all four of them had gone into the labyrinth, only to be separated into two groups; Tyson with Grover and Percy with Annabeth. They ended up finding Pan, but he died soon after. Grover had never liked being somewhere where the sun couldn't shine freely since he had been forced to wear a bridal gown for two weeks, but even more so after watching the god of the wild die in front of him.

"Dude, this is different, trust me," Percy said softly, aware of Hazel and Frank clambering over to the two of them. "You're with friends here. There are no monsters, no Cyclops, no bridal gowns… We're going to protect you, just like you protected me since I was twelve. But I also need to get to Annabeth, and we need to save everyone in that hull. Can I count on you to help us?" Grover looked at him for a moment before smiling.

"Since when are you so wise?" The half goat teased, picking himself up and playfully punching the son of the sea god in the shoulder.

"Don't worry, it won't last," Frank said, pulling out an arrow from his quiver and striking it against the wall like a match. It flared up immediately, and the young Canadian twirled it around him in a search-like gesture. "Shall we?" The group nodded their assent and began forward. Hazel held the front with Frank while Grover and Percy took the rear, Riptide and reed pipes at the ready. For a while, the only noises that descended onto the group were their echoed footsteps, the verbal silence grim and determined.

Finally Percy spoke. "Hazel, what happened back there?"

"What do you mean?"

"When we were sucked into the cave… I thought we were back in the Arctic, when Gaia nearly drowned us in the earth. That didn't happen before; how come it just did?" The dark-skinned girl's precise steps faltered for a moment, but she never turned around to answer. Frank cast a quick glance at her, concern plastered across his features like a billboard sign.

"I… I don't know," she finally whispered. "I've pulled that trick so many times in the past nine months, but every time the ground just gave way. This time, it felt like I had lost control; like I was back in Gaia's clutches with my mom. I could almost feel the oil invading my lungs." Percy could hear the fear and grief in her voice as though she had spoken of it out loud.

Percy was about to change the subject when a loud explosion above ground shook the tunnel with enough force to throw everyone to the ground. Percy and Grover exchanged looks, their eyes wide with shock. The demigod felt the empathy link between them tug, and through it came one word: _hurry. _

He scrambled to his feet and began sprinting ahead, not bothering to wait for his friends. Even when he felt as though his feet may turn into the soil and crumble away, he kept running. A hundred metres, two hundred… _How long did this tunnel go on for? _He thought.

Finally, he hit a dead end; literally. Percy's head swam as he felt the impact full force. He picked himself up and looked upward, searching for a way out. His friends finally caught up to him, and Percy turned to Hazel frantically, no words needed to explain his haste. She looked at him for a moment before looking upwards, grabbing at the air and tugging downwards. Millions of tiny pieces of metal fell into the cave, and the whole ceiling collapsed in on itself. Sunlight and smoke poured in. Percy knew they were close; he didn't, however, know how to get to the exit. It was a good forty feet up in the air, and Percy felt his hopes begin to disintegrate. They were no closer to when they had started.

"I don't suppose you can find another big piece of schist under us, can you?" Frank asked his girlfriend, who shook her head in dismay. "I didn't think so."

"Allow me, please!" Grover said a bit too cheerfully in Percy's opinion. He figured it was for his benefit, but it didn't lessen his growing anxiety. The satyr played a sharp, high pitched tone on his reed pipes. Moments later, a tall vine – one that would have brought Jack the Giant Killer to his knees in shock – began to grow out of the earth; Grover grinned and caught one of the leafs as it sailed upwards. The demigods locked eyes with each other before grabbing their own respective parts of the overgrown plant.

In seconds, the group had reached the top and jumped off with ease. Percy reminded himself never to doubt the tunnels Hazel found; they were directly next to the _Argo II, _and no more than five feet in front of them was a gaping hole leading directly into the ship's cargo. Percy didn't hesitate at all, choosing instead to rush into the smoking disaster that used to be a boat.

The inside of the _Argo II _looked as though some Titan had chewed it up and spat it back out in disgust before letting a dragon breathe fire on it everywhere. Shipments of food and supplies like blankets and celestial bronze weapons were strewn about in a panic, little patches of flames littering different sections of the boat's essentials. The room was dark, and though Percy found the chord to turn the light on, the bulb did not illuminate. The room smelled of burning wool and musty furniture, and the dark haired teen could almost taste destruction on his lips. He grabbed at the hilt of a sword, dropping it only seconds later when the burning metal seared his skin. Holding onto his injured skin, he fixed his gaze on the door in the back room. The crackling of fire and raised voices of various campers were muffled but audible behind the door. He hesitated a moment before seeing Annabeth's face, scared and bruised, in his mind. He surged forward, feeling his friends do the same behind him. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the doorknob and threw open the door.

**HULLO. Sistergrimm back with, of course, _Mark of Athena chapter 2. _You have NO idea how long this took to write, mainly because of exams and because there are two parts to it! :D**

**Lemme explain. **

**I originally wanted the fight to only be two chapters, but it ended up being 4000 words (this chapter) So I'm splitting it up. Hence the terrible ending to this chapter and start to the next. T_T **

**SO. I will now answer reviews! :D **

**First, thank you to the following people who have either favourited or story alerted myself of this story. It means so much! :heart: **

_**Amy20111Hamzah, NeoPhisabella, leadmare91, ReadingManiac98, TheJazzyDolphin, NightRain-WolfsRain, Bladzesword, **__**Darth Lumiya Skywalker, mugglelady, SingleSilver, MoonlightPath666, Percebeth18, kmc995, AmazonGueen3, **_**and finally _MissSalvatoreFletcher19. _**

**Dear Poop that was a lot. YAYYZZZZZZZ :DDDDDD**

**K. Onto reviews. :squee: **

_**sagittarius(): **_**I will, and congrats on being the first reviewer EVA! :D**

_**Amy20111Hamzah:**_**Yeah, but I am currently opening up the troll in me. ;) Thanks so much, that really means a lot, no joke! Surreal was the theme, so I'm really glad you caught it! :D**

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**_Zinnia (): _Haha, here! :D**

**_PercyJacksonFever(): _HAHA, I READ YOUR REVIEW AND WAS LIKE YO. I DO GOT THE FACTS STRAIGHT. LOOL, seriously though I know they are. Percy was remembering all his old friends from camp, even those who died, hence the fact that their faces "brought tears to his eyes." :P I just wanted to point that out, but I understand that you tried to correct me. :3 Thank you for the review, hope I cleared things up? :)**

**WELP, that's 6 reviews. Plus all the others on DeviantArt, pretty happy. :DDDD Check me out, though you'll find nothing different. DDX **

**PINK FUZZY PREGNANT SHARKS, **

**Sistergrimm97/Seaotter007 (WE'RE THE SAME PEOPLE).  
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Mark of Athena Percabeth Angst Percy Jackson Annabeth Chase


	3. Percy III

Another room, the engine room by the looks of it, lay in front of Percy. He felt as though he had walked into a forge of Hephaestus, with all the godly technology and high maintenance equipment surrounding him. He might've been inclined to sneak in further had he not caught sight of a kid his age coming out of the fire, covered in grease and sweat yet otherwise unharmed. The boy looked like a Mexican elf without the pointed ears. Under different circumstances, Percy guessed that the kid was a lot happier, what with the smile lines etched permanently into his skin. His deep brown hair was wavy and long like a Hollywood actor's, his eyes holding their own fire in them. He wiped his hands on a rag that said _Valdez _around it in gold thread, and Percy finally recognized him as Leo, the "supreme commander" that sent them the message earlier that morning.

"Hey Leo!" Grover called out, and the kid looked up frantically, pulling out a hammer from the tool belt that hung around his hips. When he spotted the half goat, he visibly relaxed, yet his tightened grip on the blunt object in his hand never ceased.

"Grover, man, thank the gods!" He exclaimed, rushing over to the group, clasping hands with the satyr. "Hey, who are you guys? Wait…" He pointed the hammer at Percy, who took a step back to avoid being slammed in the nose. "Piper showed me a picture of you at camp! You're Percy Jackson! Oh man, will Annabeth be happy to see you again! Everyone at camp tells me it isn't the real her because she's so worried about you, but I personally don't see how –"

"Leo," Percy grabbed him by the shoulders, cutting him off as quickly as the Valdez kid spoke. "Where is she? Where. Is. Annabeth." His voice came out a lot crueller than he had originally intended, but he was losing his patience and fast. He needed to get to her, quick; something wasn't right with this attack. The monsters were too easy, and next to none of the campers were seriously injured. Gaia may have been determined, but she wasn't stupid enough to send in troops just for the pleasure of her own destruction. No, each and every one of them had a purpose in her army, much like pieces in a chess game; even pawns had their uses.

Leo's eyes widened. "Last I saw, she ran out to the sleeping quarters to get the others out of there. Supposedly, there was a fire, and I'm seriously out of juice in my tool belt to even contain it; trust me, I've tried." Percy looked at his friends, though quite honestly none of them looked too good. Frank and Grover looked a little pale, and Hazel's eyes were blank, just staring at the newcomer. Percy didn't blame her; he was an exact carbon copy of her old boyfriend in the picture back in Alaska.

"Here, you better come with me." Leo said, his tone suddenly grim and his eyebrows drawn together in concentration. "We're going to need everyone's help, especially to help Piper and Jason."

"Jason?" Hazel gasped, her voice suddenly quite high pitched and scratchy, as though it hadn't been used in years. "Jason's here?"

"Of course, m'dear," he waggled his eyebrows and then quickly gave her the once over. "And who are you?" Hazel looked like she was blushing deep red and opened her mouth, but Frank put a protective arm around her shoulder. Under different circumstances, Percy probably would have laughed.

"Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto. This is Frank Zhang, son of Mars; and no, he isn't like other Ares kids you've met, trust me." Her voice sounded a lot stronger as she snaked her arm around Frank's waist and fell into him a bit, moulding with him perfectly. Leo looked a bit disappointed, but it didn't last, like he was used to getting shut down all the time. His eyebrows suddenly drew together in confusion. _Wow, _Percy thought, _this kid must love to use those things. _

"Have we met before?" He asked Hazel, his eyes boring straight into her. "I swear, you're face and name… it's like I've seen you in a family photo album." Hazel stumbled into Frank, eyes wide.

"No, we've never met. I don't recognize you at all."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

Leo kept looking at her for another moment before running a hand through his hair and grinning sheepishly. "Sorry then, it must be the carbon monoxide talking. I inhale a little too much of that sometimes, what with being flame-resistant and what not."

The group just stared at him. He either didn't notice or chose to ignore it as he marched towards the stairwell. He turned back only to beckon at them, running up the stairs. Percy and Frank exchanged looks before following him.

"So…" Frank jogged slightly between Leo and Hazel. "You're fire-resistant?"

Leo nodded. "I really didn't like spreading it around, but apparently the last little Johnny flame-on Hephaestus had was, like, quite a few centuries." He shrugged, throwing open a door in an intersecting hallway. Flames flew out at him, and Percy jumped back in alarm; the son of Hephaestus however, plunged his hands into the raging fire, clasped them together, and pulled them apart like a breaking egg. The dangerous tongues immediately split in half, creating a glowing and demonic hallway for them to proceed into. Percy could just barely make out a door at the end, and he wasn't about to let that opportunity about to go, especially if it led to Annabeth.

"So if you can control fire, why didn't you just extinguish it all from the boat?" He just vaguely heard Hazel demand, her voice sounding confused and suspicious.

"Nah man," the curly haired boy replied, sounding out the grin on his face, "for one thing, too much at one time makes me pass out, and the flames will just keep coming back from the gas leak down in the engine. Plus, there's still the carbon monoxide danger and the fact that I'm not prepared to die by a monster because I fainted. It's better if I get everyone off of this boat safely by creating an escape route; Annabeth even told me –"

Percy listened to no more, instead choosing to sprint through the "Hell hallway", as he dubbed it seconds ago. A flame came close to his shoulder, but he ducked out of the way and made it to the door without injury. Not bothering to test the doorknob for heat, he threw it open and froze in his spot.

Light shone through at him, throwing Percy into a blinding stupor. The group had managed to hit the top deck, and things weren't exactly looking up for the Greek campers. Gryphons snapped their menacingly pointy beaks at warriors dressed in gleaming armour. Multiple cockatrices had managed to sneak up through holes and boards that acted as ladders and had wounded a few of Percy's friends. He heard Leo curse behind him, and turned to see he had gone pale white.

"Percy, move!" Grover suddenly pulled him back, and he watched in fascinated horror as Valdez threw back his hand, caught a fireball bigger than his own head, and threw it DragonballZ style at a cockatrice. It screeched in pain and unwrapped itself from a girl who had nearly been strangled in its grasp. She inhaled sharply, and Percy saw another new camper sneak up behind it and stab a – was that Imperial Gold? – spear as long as a bedpost's into the snake's side. It disappeared with a pained _squawk! _

Percy took a good look at the two new kids. The girl had choppy hair as though it had been home cut, and eyes with every single colour imaginable, her own personal rainbow permanently etched into them. She wore no makeup, yet she was beautiful without it nonetheless. Her lips were perfect and full, a slender body like a model's who had a proper diet. She wore the normal Camp Half-Blood t-shirt with knee-length shorts, and Percy noted the triangular dagger in its sheath. The boy was tall and muscular, as though he worked out every day with shaggy hair, less than Leo's but more so than Frank's. His eyes were bright blue, and the son of Poseidon couldn't help but feel as though he had looked into very similar eyes when he was thirteen. There was an overwhelming sense of electricity around him, and even before Hazel cried out in delight he knew who the guy was.

"Jason!" The daughter of Pluto yelped, scrambling up the stairs. He turned in time, a cheek splitting smile forming on his face. Hazel launched herself into his arms and hugged him fiercely, and Percy himself couldn't help but grin at the two friends reuniting.

"Hazel," Jason laughed, setting her down and looking at her incredulously, "my Gods have I missed you!" They conversed for a moment, but all words were lost on Percy as he searched the sky deck. Campers fought valiantly, a mix of allies and feathers, talons and weapons. Percy spied an abnormally large flock of gryphons converging at the end of the deck, not one cockatrice in sight. Percy went to keep looking when he saw a flash of curly hair, silver and blonde. His heart stopped; please tell me that isn't her.

He brandished Riptide and rushed forward, only to be thrown backwards as he slammed into some unknown force. Stars quickly clearing out of his head, he picked himself up and tried putting his hand out; it was blocked. He tried using his shoulder, but to no avail. He didn't know where the wall was coming from, he could only watch helplessly as his girlfriend fought four gryphons on her own.

Percy quite honestly didn't know how she did it; him, Frank and Hazel all had trouble taking down eight together, never mind four each. Maybe it was the fact that, as a daughter of Athena, she knew their weaknesses. She parried each of their attacks, ducking as they attempted to take off her head. Percy looked on in horrified awe as she was nearly cut in half by one's beak.

"Annabeth!" Percy screeched, pounding on the see-through wall with everything had; he may have been unable to pass through, but his voice sure could. Annabeth whipped her head and looked at him, their eyes connecting for no more than a second. In those moments, Percy saw how much pain he had caused her over the course of his disappearance, how much worry and anger and fear. He saw relief and love, hope and happiness, and then concentration as she just narrowly missed being gutted by a gryphon. The wall came down; Percy stumbled through, sprinting as though being chased to his girlfriend. Just as he was within five feet of her, another aviator brought his talons around Annabeth's armpits, claws shredding open her shirt and cutting deep into her left side. She screamed, slashing out with her dagger, but she was losing too much blood and simply struggled against the bony bonds, reaching out to Percy.

"Percy!"

"Annabeth! _NO_!"

Everything suddenly fell silent; the fires stopped crackling, the weapons stopped parrying and attacking. It was as if the whole Field of Mars had been put on mute, and the only person who controlled the volume was a woman that had chocolate brown hair woven into a braid with silk gold ribbons. She was tall, and the immaculate white dress that rippled like raindrops in a puddle only enhanced that idea. Her eyes matched her hair, and they were glazed with an intimidating power; Percy let out a growl and narrowed his eyes, not in the least bit happy to see the goddess of marriage.

"Hera." His voice may have been spun with a little too much venom, but he could give less of a hydra's head at the moment; this was, after all, the immortal woman who had taken away nearly five months of his life as well as all the memories preceding it. The gryphon that held Annabeth was frozen as if transfixed at the goddess' beauty, yet the girl in its talons still made a weak attempt to be released.

Hera smiled. "Hello Percy. And hello to you to, Annabeth." She added, turning to Percy's girlfriend. The blonde-haired teen scowled and thrashed around in the bony jail. "Now now dear, don't worry; I will let you out of that animal's grasp in a moment. First however, I must speak to your beloved."

At this she turned to Percy, her dark red lips curled up into the most subtle of smirks. The son of Poseidon tightened his grip on Riptide, standing his ground.

"What do you want, Hera?"

"Oh, I just want to remind you of the warning I gave you recently." She shrugged her shoulders, and began reciting words that sounded like lines of a prophecy:

_Wisdom's daughter walks alone_

_The Mark of Athena burns through Rome_

"I warned you once before, Perseus Jackson, that your girlfriend would have a hard task ahead of her; that she would be the one to cause you the most trouble. Yet you continue to be as ignorant as a wombat."

Percy glanced at Annabeth, whose eyes were wet with pained tears. None streamed down her face, but he knew that even she couldn't keep from weeping when a sharp nail was bleeding you to death.

"Get out of my way, Hera." He tried to slip past her, but he was on his back in an instant, the wind knocked out of his lungs. The goddess loomed over him dangerously, her whole being beginning to glow a threatening white.

"Percy!" Annabeth screeched; she, too, had begun to brighten like Hera.

"It's time you learn to heed my warnings, Jackson." Zeus' wife then turned to Annabeth. "It is your turn to go on your own adventure, dear. Whether you choose to do so or not is irrelevant. The gods have willed it to be."

From somewhere behind him, Percy heard Jason shout, "Don't look at her!" He turned his head away in time to shield his eyes from the goddess' true divine form; something he knew could very well kill him.

When he turned around, every single monster had evaporated from Hera's divinity. He watched as Annabeth began to tumble to the ground, and he scrambled to save her somehow.  
>Suddenly, Annabeth's glow grew brighter than ever. A voice rumbled from the clouds:<p>

_One shall go to find what they've lost,_

_To save their loved one no matter what cost,_

_Six will embark on a journey so fatal,_

_And try to find the one at the Titan's cradle._

_Wisdom's daughter walks alone,_

_The mark of Athena burns through Rome._

And with a flash of heartbreaking white, Annabeth disappeared, leaving behind a confused and distraught Percy Jackson.

**And here we have Chapter 3. :D I have multiple people to thank** **today, but I'm hoping for more ;D **

**Thanks to: **_**superfreak123, MuchAirSense, CharmyXcream14, love-seranades, **_**and _cinammon-roll _for favouriting either my or my work and/or alerting me/story. :DD**

**_NeoPhisabella: _Haha, thank you so much! :D I know, except Grover won't show up afterwards for long because as we both know, _seven half bloods shall answer the call. _Because he isn't a demi-god, he can't help. :/ Depressing though, Right? :'( Thanks for the amazing review! :D **

**~Sistergrimm97**


	4. Annabeth I

**Things to include in Chapter: Faunus, Teutoburg Forest, the Battle of Teutoburg, Autumn-Summer as Annabeth exits, possible chase scene? Conversation with Faunus, Annabeth's injury… Only first twenty feet of the forest is autumn, and anywhere Faunus walks it turns into Fall, everywhere he leaves turns back to Summer. The Statue of Halmsomething, **

Annabeth shifted in her sleep; she was neither aware of the blinding light bursting through her eyelids, nor did she register the transition from falling to her death to sleeping on an uncomfortable ground.

No, it was the biting cold water soaking into her back that caused her to gasp in surprise.

Her eyes flew open, flitting around her surroundings like a hawk looking for its prey. Annabeth wasn't exactly miffed about the location; it was a beautiful, earthy forest with leaves of banana yellow, blood red, and bright orange that fell to the ground smoothly under the crisp morning breeze. The sun was only just coming out from its lightless slumber, and it shone through the cracks of the dense branches to cast intricate and beautiful patterns onto the crunch and frost covered floor. A body of water the size of a small lake lay to her immediate left, and Annabeth was sure she could touch it if she reached out with her hands. Lily pads sifted gracefully across the water, causing ripples as though it were a dancer moving nimbly around the lake. To her right, trees hung everywhere, nearly naked from their recent shedding; the smell of fresh berries mingled with clean water and fresh air.

Annabeth smiled, standing up and looking around her in awe; she had barely taken a step when a wave of dizzying pain swept over her, causing her to crash into the nearest tree trunk and inhale sharp breaths. She grabbed at her side, the pain most disorienting there. When she pulled her hand away, she felt herself turn a shade paler as she noted the crimson red on her fingers. She frantically lifted her shirt and saw the deep gash just atop her ribs.

Everything came back to her in a rush; the Roman camp, the _Argo II _falling to the ground, Hera's visit…

When the boat got hit by the rock, Annabeth had been calming Piper down. It wasn't exactly going well, not since Annabeth had the same worries as the daughter or Aphrodite.

"What if he has a girlfriend, Annabeth?" Piper had wailed, her knuckles turning white as she clutched the railing with enough force to dent it slightly. Her eyes glowed bright with the colours of the rainbow, taking in the surge of warriors beneath them as the boat descended slightly.

"Piper, you need to calm down." Annabeth replied, her hand on the other girl's back. "Jason looks like he really likes you, just give him some time. You know as well as I do that boys don't always get romantic hints. Look at me and Percy; it took him four years before he caught on that I liked him." Piper giggled a bit at that, before a comfortable silence enveloped the two of them.

Annabeth had really wanted to reassure her friend, but at the same time she couldn't promise her the moon. What if Jason really did have a girlfriend at his old camp? It wasn't as though she could see the future; she was just trying to help Piper out. Too bad she couldn't help herself. When she found out that Percy had lost his memories as well, she had panicked with the idea that he had fallen in love with some Roman chick, throwing her heart into the hands of a three-eyed ogre. Back on the _Argo II, _she should've taken into account the ever-greying skies.

"What do you think this Roman camp will be like?" Piper asked suddenly, her eyes staring straight down. "I mean, Jason is a great guy, but from what he's told me, Roman campers are much more defensive and territorial. What if they attack us the moment we land?"

"Percy won't let that happen, I promise you." Annabeth had answered quickly, her voice sounding slightly unsure and hopeful. "If there was one thing that you could tell about him right off the bat, it's that Seaweed Brain was never one to let a friend fight a battle alone. I hope he's here…"

She had begun to search the crowds when suddenly, many things happened. Lightning struck the ground, with dozens upon dozens of cockatrice oozing out of the whole it had made. Gryphons had flown out of the skies with boulders in their talons. With heart wrenching terror, one of the rocks made contact with the boat's hull, throwing everyone to the ground. For a moment, nothing happened; then the _Argo II _plummeted to the ground.

Annabeth had scrambled to the sleeping quarters, ignoring the burst of flames as she threw open the door. Rushing down the stairs, she turned into the large corridor of bedrooms doors, twelve in all for six campers each. She ran to the nearest one and grabbed at the knob, turning it. _Oh Gods, _she thought with fear, _please let no one be in here and stuck. _She heaved her shoulder against the door, again and again like a battering ram, and on the fifth time it crashed down. The room had yet to be touched by the sudden fire, but whether or not it was from the fact Leo Valdez was in here, she'd never find out.

"Leo!" Annabeth screeched, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Get out and fix the engine! Quick, before it blows up!"

"I need my tool belt, smart one!" He snapped, not even bothering to look at her before grabbing the magical leather strap. He had rushed out the door, not even bothering a 'thank you' or 'excuse me' before sprinting to the maintenance door down the hall. Annabeth rolled her eyes and proceeded to the next five rooms, all of which had been empty and completely burned down. There were six rooms left to check, and she needed to hurry. It wasn't as though Annabeth Chase had super powers; the carbon monoxide was starting to invade her lungs like oil in a river. It was slowly sapping away her energy.

With a cough she tried the seventh doorknob; pain shot through the palm of her hand as it made contact with the burning metal. Already her skin was beginning to peel and bleed. She cursed herself for not testing it with the back of her hand first, and looked at the door for a moment, cradling her wrist with the uninjured hand.

With determined resolve, she brought her foot up and kicked the door open Chuck Norris style, the week wood splintering to the ground. The room was ablaze with the raging fire, and Annabeth was nowhere near equipped to go in there. She turned to leave, positive no one had survived in here had there been anyone inside, when she heard the faintest of coughs in the back corner. Spinning around, she took a deep breath of fresh air and rushed in, ignoring the smell of burning hair and the hot flames licking at her clothes.

"Jason!" Annabeth had yelled, her voice shocked and high-pitched as the young demigod came into view. He was on his knees, smouldering and coughing with all his might. "What are you doing? You were supposed to be upstairs manning the wheel!" He looked up at her with bloodshot eyes, his face turning a deep crimson.

"I thought... I mean, I wanted to make sure…" Jason had trailed off, glancing to the right. It was only then that the daughter of Athena realized she was in the Aphrodite girls' room. She followed his eyes to a burning picture of Piper, Leo and Jason. The _Argo II _was blurred in the background, but even with the thought of an impending war in their minds, the trio looked happy.

"You thought Piper might've been in here." She finished for him, sympathy slipping through her shocked state at finding him defenceless in the room. She shook herself out of the sudden thought that if he had died in here, they would've lost one of the seven in the Prophecy and a good friend, and picked him up. They stumbled out of the room, and Jason slumped against the wall, sucking in deep breaths. After a moment or two, his colour had returned and he stood tall. He thanked Annabeth for saving him before asking what she was doing down here.

"Looking for any stupid campers," she answered teasingly. The son of Jupiter laughed and rubbed his neck before shrugging apologetically. "Here, you take those last two doors; I'll take these three."

Together they searched the rooms, but luckily no one else had been down here. Annabeth came to the last door in the hall, the one that led to the Athena room. She threw it open, and looked into the room, feeling like she was in a surreal and horrifying nightmare. All her belongings – clothes, textbooks, pictures of her, Percy and Grover, as well as ones of her and Luke and Thalia – they were all lit on fire, turning to ash more and more by the minute.

"Annabeth, we've got to get out of here!" Jason shouted, his voice sounding faint and in water. "The ceiling's crumbling, no one's –" His frantic calls were cut off by Annabeth's yelp; in the farthest corner of the room, where the fire had just barely begun to touch, sat Daedalus' laptop. She scrambled for it, ignoring the pain of the fire as she scooped it up in her arms. She tried to reach the exit, but flames blocked her off. She backed into the wall, pain shooting into her shoulder blade as it hit a sharp corner. _I wonder if this is how Percy felt when he was trapped in Saint Helen's, _she thought dejectedly as she watched the flames close in.

A gust of wind threw her to her feet, and the light was extinguished as though it had been a candle and was blown on. Jason stood over her, eyebrows drawn together in frustration as he stared at what Annabeth had risked her life for.

"Don't look at me like that," she protested, holding it against her chest protectively. "You did the same thing as I did!"

"Mine was for a living person, not a laptop!" He ran a hand over his face and through his hair before groaning in annoyance. "Come on, we've got to help out!" Together, they rushed back up the stairs; just as they reached the outside, the hall crumbled down on itself. Jason raised his eyebrows at Annabeth, to which she replied by rolling her eyes and muttering her thanks. Jason ran into the battle, an Imperial Gold lance suddenly in his hands.

Turning towards the battle, Annabeth had unsheathed her dagger and surveyed the war. A cockatrice reared its ugly head at her; she cut it off just as swiftly. She'd had enough fighting to last an immortal lifetime; it was time for her to find the one person that mattered to her more than life itself.

She went to vault the railings, to rush out and find Percy no matter the cost. She was suddenly stopped when she caught sight of Piper on the other side of the deck. The girl had managed to destroy one cockatrice, but another snuck up behind her and began squeezing. Annabeth had panicked; she was nowhere near her friend and the snake-chickens were as strong as a boa constrictor. She searched desperately until she caught a flash of short blonde hair.

"Jason!" She had screeched, her voice shrill with panic. "Piper, she's being –" He didn't even wait for her to finish the sentence. Following her outstretched finger, he booked it over to the Cherokee girl. Annabeth smiled slightly, but she was suddenly surrounded by a multitude of gryphons that looked as though they could take her down just with their intense gazes. She had dropped into a defensive stance, as unwavering and ready to fight as a terracotta warrior. She fended them off easily, and for a while things had been going extremely smoothly; then she heard her name and saw Percy.

He had been staring at her, fear for her safety and frustration evident on his face. _Why isn't he helping me? _She had thought in despair. He began pounding the air, each one sending a slight ripple in front of him. _Wait, what? _

Instinct told her to dodge, and thank the gods she had, because a gryphon nearly ripped open her stomach. Annabeth began fighting again; she could hear Percy's footsteps, smiling to herself as she let another explosion of monster dust flutter around her gleaming dagger. Then the pain came, and her grin fell to the ground as she was grabbed by a gryphon.

The rest was all a blur to her because of the unforgettable pain she had been feeling. Besides Hera, all she really remembered was Percy; Percy shouting her name, Percy trying to save her, Percy on the ground, Percy reaching out to try and save her from the fall before everything flashed white. She smacked her fist against the forest floor before letting angry tears fall down her cheeks.

She had been _so _close, no further than an inch to her Seaweed Brain when he was just ripped from her again. Or, in light of the current situation, it looked as though she had been taken from him; either way, Annabeth couldn't care less. For months, she had searched for the Roman camp, for some sort of sign that he was alright. She needed to talk to him, to pull him close and never let go, to tell him that she loved him and that if he ever did that to her again she would set Mrs. O'Leary on him. But she couldn't, because she didn't know where he was.

She didn't even know where she was.

She tried standing up again, this time holding onto a strong-looking branch for support. A leaf fell on her shoulder, her curly blonde hair rippling in the sunlight. She walked over to the lake, reaching for different supports, and surveyed the other side. It looked like a vast forest; she had no idea how she was to get out. She stared at the lily pads in the water, how they moved only when a breeze allowed them to, and wondered how on earth she had gotten herself into this mess. When she looked across the water, she simply stared at the lush green trees, taking in the beauty.

Her eyebrows drew in confusion; lush green trees? Annabeth was now extremely confused. On this side of the pond, everything was dying with grace, but on the other side, it was exuberant and alive. She turned her head to the left, then to the right. She only became more confused as she realized everything beyond a twenty foot radius was as green as it would have been in the summer.

"That's because it is summer, Annabeth Chase."

She spun around, the movement causing her to grab onto a nearby tree in exhaustion and shock. Annabeth stared at the man in front of her, though she immediately cursed inwardly for calling a satyr a human being. It was quite obvious, considering he chose not to cover up with any clothes. His hooves were muddied and worn, his legs covered in thick, wild brown fur. His bare chest was defined and had next to no chest hair, and his arms were muscular yet small. His eyes were as gold as the autumn leaves and his smile was warm yet powerful. He wore a cape made of leaves and held a staff that looked as though it had been spun like a braid from three tree branches. Most intriguing about him was his head; he had unruly dark brown hair, but two horns the sizes of a battering ram's stuck out on top. The demigod noted that they had been bigger than Pan's, and she reached for her dagger in anticipation of a fight.

"Put the weapon away, daughter of Athena." His voice was heart warming yet stern, like a father who told his daughter not to play with sharp objects. He smelled of fresh air and oak. "I am not here to harm you."

"Who are you?" Annabeth asked, her voice sounding weak and small.

"I am Faunus, the Roman God of the forests, plains and fields."

**Chapter 4 is up! :D **

**Here's what's funny; I post this story on both dA and , yet I have nearly double if not triple the response in deviantART. DDDx LOOL, that just goes to show... **

**ANYWAYS! People I'd like to thank this week for favouriting or alerting either me or my story are as follows: _wishingtodobetter _and _kmc995_! Hmmm, the latter of those two sounds very familiar... why is that? 0_o**

**REVIEW TIME (funny, when I wrote my PnF story I got like, 410 reviews. OH WELLS!)**

___**The Stoll Sisters:**_**Haha, thanks! Glad you can relate it to the big Rsquared. :D BECAUSE CLIFFHANGERS ARE EVIL. MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ^^**

___**NeoPhisabella: **_**You know, I realized that you've bread all of my stories. I really have to thank you for that, it means a lot. :D :heart: Heehee, everyone hates Piper. I like her; she punches Leo. xDDDDDD PERCABETH ANGST WOOTTT :D OP, thanks! I will probably forget to change that but I am mentally kicking myself! :/ I do those typoes a lot. LOOL THAT PROPHECY WAS THE BIGGEST FAIL I HAVE EVER - really? you liked it? :puppyeyes: YAYZZZZZZ :heart: **

******~Sistergrimm97**


	5. Annabeth II

It wasn't as though Annabeth hadn't met gods before; she'd talked to a great many thanks to Percy. She'd gotten fast food from Ares, visited mount Olympus during the counsel of the gods, had the goddess of wisdom as her mother, and Lady Artemis herself had wanted her to join the Hunters. Heck, she was even the main architect for Olympus after the war and the most powerful goddess hated her, not that she was complaining. It wasn't that Faunus was a satyr, either; one of her best friends was half goat and who was she to judge?

It was the fact that Faunus wasn't supposed to be alive that her fingers lingered on her dagger.

"You can't be Faunus." Annabeth whispered, her voice a little stronger than before. "There's no way, because Faunus is –"

"Pan's counterpart and he's gone?" The satyr chuckled, a deep and earthy sound that reminded her of the way her dad used to laugh when they first started getting along. "Come, child, allow me to enlighten you." He turned and began in the other direction, his movements graceful for someone with hooves for feet. She watched his retreating body and, after a moment's hesitation, stumbled after him, slipping and holding onto branches for support.

Annabeth noted with some shock that wherever her companion went, the leaves suddenly turned a deep red and fell off the trees, the tall grass instantly wilting and drying them out. She looked behind her shoulder; just as she thought, everything else where she had first woken up looked as lush as the rest of the forest.

"My favourite season is autumn," Faunus called over his shoulder, startling the young girl. "You needn't mull over it, it's as simple as that."

Once she had caught up, the so called god began to speak. "You know how the Greek and Roman counterpart theory works, yes?"

Annabeth nodded. "After the Romans took over from the Greeks, they took nearly everything the Greeks had started and perfected it, including their religions. Since the gods must adjust to civilizations, they formed a sort of alternate life, one where they were much more evolved and perfected, as it were."

"Very good, daughter of Athena," Faunus smiled down at her. "I am impressed. Tell me, do you know why I am still alive even though Pan isn't? Could you guess?"

The young girl thought hard for a moment, but her mind drew a blank. There had to be something that had to do with the Greek and Roman god relationship… She blinked, seeing what had been in front of her since she had thought Faunus was supposedly dead.

"Because you aren't actually Pan; you're a reincarnation of sorts."

Faunus chuckled. "You are so close, my dear. I _am_ Pan, to an extent. I could live in both aspects at the same time, it just weakened me slightly. I have every one of his personalities, just perfected slightly. When he used the Call of the Wild, a little bit of my powers would be added. We are one and the same, and yet we are two very different people."

"So when Pan faded away," Annabeth reasoned, "you didn't die because, in all technicalities, you can live at the same time, but it's also possible for you to continue to live after he died."

"Exactly."

"Wait, but…" She tried to wrap her mind around one important key. "My satyr friend Grover, he's no God of the Wild. How come –"

"He can use the Panic shout?" Faunus slowed down for a moment, looking thoughtful as he clasped his hands behind his back. "He can, because Pan's essence must live on."

"Come again?"

The god stopped and grabbed Annabeth's shoulders. "Listen to me very carefully, Annabeth Chase. As gods, we have certain responsibilities; one of these is to look after the elements in our control. If Zeus were to die, the sky would be in turmoil. Lightning would streak the night sky like broken glass without delay and clouds would take over the skies. Without a god like Nemesis, all revenge would either be too petty or too cruel.

"That's why we have essences. Even if we are to wait in the depths of Tartarus for a millennia or we simply fade away, our essences stay because if they don't, the world goes into chaos. It's the balance, the yin to the yang, so to speak."

Annabeth tried processing this; she felt like she was seven years old again and just couldn't understand why Athena wouldn't come and whisk her away from her eccentric step-mom. She walked ahead a bit, bending down and picking up a warped stick. _I may need this for a while, _she thought miserably.

She looked back at Faunus, who was observing her with quiet urging. "So what's that got to do with Grover? Are you telling me that Pan's essence lives on in him?"

The satyr smiled, his expression full of satisfaction and wilderness. Annabeth's eyes widened as though they were a camera lens zooming in, her whole body spinning around, though her ribs pounded painfully against her injury as she did so.

"You're kidding me."

"I am not. Your friend Grover, he was the first one to have such blind faith in me, and through all his irrational fears and late blooming, he was the one I waited for, the only one who could find me and set Pan free. When Pan faded, some of his spirit descended into each of your souls."

Suddenly, something clicked inside Annabeth's brain, like two wires connecting and sparking up. After the encounter with Pan, she had always felt as though some of the wild now lived in her as well, something untamable and invincible; the power of a god.

"Wait, so I have some of Pan's spirit in me?" The blonde haired youth asked, touching her hand to her heart for a moment as though someone beckoned her to do so. "Then how come I can't use Panic like Grover?"

"Because unlike Mr. Underwood, you are a demigod, not a true child of the wild. Satyrs can do many things; they can talk to animals, use woodland magic, and once they die they are reincarnated as a plant of sorts. Grover was chosen out of all of you to carry the bigger chunk of Pan's essence because he knows how to use it and he alone is the only one who understands how fragile it is. Do not overestimate Panic, my dear; while it may be a feared weapon, it is both very unstable and easy to lose. Even the smallest of cracks in the glass will shatter."

"And you – or Pan – or you as Pan, I guess," Annabeth struggled to word her thoughts correctly, but everything was coming out of her mouth with the intelligence of a wombat. "Are you the one that brought me here? And where is _here _anyways?"

Faunus walked towards the lake, turning towards her and beckoning with his hairy hands as he reached the edge. She followed him after a moment, her pain now at the back of her mind. She pushed a branch aside and looked out to the water. It was definitely someplace she could see Percy wanting to come to, with the water a deep blue and the sun hitting its surface beautifully. Fresh lily pads and algae covered the top, and it smelled of a freshwater pond.

"This," Faunus gestured towards the lake, "is Donop's Pond. And this whole place," here he spread his arms wide toward the forest, "is Teutoburg Forest, North-Rhine Westphalia."

"Please tell me you don't mean North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany."

The god nodded. "The very same. Have you ever heard of the Battle of Teutoburg forest?" Annabeth furrowed her brow, though she was feeling quite lightheaded; how had she gotten so far away from America in such a short period of time? Suddenly this place didn't look as beautiful as it once had, for the colours were growing dim. She shook her head, not remembering any exact details but the name stuck out in her mind.

"I didn't think so," her companion sighed, waving his hand and allowing two chair-like stumps for them to sit on. "After all, it was a Roman battle; they wouldn't have taught you such a thing at a Greek camp. I wonder if you would you like to have a little history lesson right now, child?"

"Sure, it doesn't look as though I'll be going anywhere anytime soon." She took a seat and sighed in relief as she relaxed her throbbing ribcage. The stump was surprisingly comfy and rested at the edge of Donop's pond where Annabeth could dip her open-toed sandals in. She looked up and rested her eyes on the creature-god across from her, who coughed and began his tale.

"The Battle of Teutoburg Forest was in September in the year of the 9th Common Era. The fight was between a group of Germanic tribe allies and three Roman legions with auxiliaries. This particular battle was one of many between the two countries, dating all the way back from 4 CE, possibly even farther. The battle took the span of nearly a week and a half, and was led by two very strong men. There was Arminius, who led the Germans and was a part of the Cherusci tribe, and there was Publius Quinctilius Varus, a Roman noble from one of the more elite families. Over the course of the battles, many were lost; Rome alone suffered the loss of more than twenty thousand of their most courageous soldiers to the Underworld while several other were captured. Germania had beaten them, and that was that."

Faunus pointed across the lake. Annabeth squinted to see, and made out a tall statue above a thick bushel of trees. The tip of a sword looked rock hard and a man with a crown and in a toga stood tall. Beneath that was overgrown wildlife as far as she could see.

"That over there is Hermannsdenkmal, which is German for the Hermann monument. It depicts Arminius in his most victorious state over the Romans."

"I don't get it," Annabeth cut in, her patience and pain tolerance wearing thin. "Why are you telling me this? Why do I need to know about this right now? I just want to go home!" Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she bit her tongue hard; she would not cry in front of a god.

Faunus looked at her for a moment before glancing down at her blood-soaked shirt. "I can't really do anything about the shirt, but I'm sure… yes, yes I know I can." He held out his hand and it began to glow a healthy grass green. Immediately, water from the pond and leaves began to swirl up into the space next to Annabeth. They did an intimate dance with each other before the now soaked dead leaves stuck to her skin. The girl gritted her teeth for a moment, expecting pain from the saltwater, but was pleasantly surprised to feel that it had a cooling and tingly sensation instead. Another flick of the god's wrist, and two thick strands of long sea grass jumped from the pond and wrapped around her stomach, tightening and holding the natural bandage in place. Annabeth looked at him in wonder, expressing her thanks with a gratifying smile; Faunus however, grabbed her hands in his suddenly.

"I am telling you all this because in the next few minutes I will be gone, and your quest will have truly begun. I am running out of time to tell you, so listen carefully. When the Germans and the Romans fought, there was bloodshed. There will be bloodshed today; whether or not it will be yours, I do not know. Your quest is dangerous, child. You must find the one who has been taken from you and save them no matter what the price. It is going to be difficult, and I do not know why you were the only one chosen for this perilous task, but you will be accompanied. You are going to meet people you never thought you'd team up with, and they are going to be some of the biggest assets you have ever gotten."

"Wait a minute," Annabeth protested, her voice rising slightly. "What do you mean? I thought my quest had already begun!"

"No dear; the quest will begin when Cacus gets hungry. I wish you good luck, and I wish that you know I want to help you more than life itself."

And with that, he was gone, leaving Annabeth to her thoughts in a quiet forest nowhere near where she lived. She stared at where Faunus had been only moments ago in a state of shock when a blood curdling roar rang out through the forest, shattering the beautiful day to a million pieces.

* * *

><p><strong>OH HAI DERE. Well, funny story; I actually had this written... a month ago? I just... okay, don't kill me, but I keep forgetting to submit it onto this particular site. T_T So be prepared for three chapters tonight! WOOT<strong>

**Special thanks to the following people who either favourited me or my work, or followed my work or myself! _maskedgoompa, .oO, The Stolen Tears, AlextheNerd, DreigoAgnet, isoydada, _and of course an awesome person named _smileey4percy _! THANKS GUYS *heart***

_**kmc995: **_**Glad you liked the previous chapter! I'm happy to have made it worth your while to read! Wanna hear a secret? We were supposed to have the conversation with Faunus last chapter, but I decided to lengthen them both a bit, so... Oh well! *giggle* Thank you sooo much bud, and ah yes that's right you did! Thanks then! :D**

_**NeoPhisabella: **_**That's okay that you're a day late, I'm like a month late. OOPS! I  
>am glad that you enjoyed the other end of the stick with Annabeth's version, and yes I agree that she totally would (she wouldn't be Annabeth if she didn't!) He is totally the Roman version of Pan! Love. Him. He is ah-mazing! :) Well, I wasn't trying to, but I'm glad I did if it reminded you of something that made you smile! I am so so so sorry for making you wait this long! I didn't get as big a response here as I did on dA so, I kind of forgot... DDDx I will keep updating on this site just for you thou<strong>**gh! Thanks again!:)**

_**sistersgrimm97: **_**Funny, I was thinking to myself before answering you, _please let this be a short review... Nope. Who wrote it?... Of course. _K, you make my life. *heart*You can bite me and my typoes in the derriere, madame! But thank you very much for reading this all still, I do appreciate it! :)**

****_**DreigoAgnet: **_**I already answered you VIA inbox, but thanks again for reviewing! It made us friends! :D**

**_isoydada: _YOU ARE BACK! Wait, what happened? D: That is quite the steep drop my friend! I hope it isn't because of a certain fanfiction you are reading... ;) I KEED I KEED! Seriously though, why you been sulking girl? You've always been so upbeat here! Really, if you need to talk I'm here, I always answer at some point! ... Wow... I can't believe that my writing does that to people. Thanks, that gave me a much-needed pick me up as well. I appreciate it *heart* You're such a faithful reviewer! Please don't leave me!**

**_Smileey4percy3: _I already answered you VIA inbox, but seriously, thanks for reviewing! If you hadn't, I probably never would've updated! COOKIES FOR YOUUU! :heart: **

**Well that's all guys; two more chapters are coming up tonight! Woot woot! Just gotta finish the third one; 300 more words to go! :) **

**Sistergrimm97  
><strong>


	6. Annabeth III

Annabeth looked around her with alarm, eyes wide as she looked for the source of the growl-like noise. She wondered if she had imagined it; the forest had turned back to summer where she sat and the leaves were slowly falling upwards, back onto their branches, and turning a beautiful emerald green once more. A fish jumped in Donop's pond, a kingfisher dove low to catch it.

The second the roar came again, Annabeth was on her feet and sprinting in the other direction. Whatever that thing was, it was close, and it was gaining.

The daughter of Athena kept running, her ADHD acting up again. She noticed the gnarled tree roots she made to jump over and the precariously low branches she had to swing her head low to avoid getting her head taken off. She saw another fish jump in the water as she skirted around the edge, and just barely saw the sheep running to her left. Wait, sheep?

Annabeth paused for a second, and nearly got crushed by a lit tree as it fell towards her in a heap of fire. She took off again, instincts telling her to swing up into a tree and continue from there. It was obviously a stupid move, considering she had just seen a huge oak tumble to its death flaming Leo style, but she had no choice; it was either that or run out in the open with a bunch of sheep and who knew what else.

She used a maggot-infested log as a jumping platform and kicked off, catching a thick branch in her hands and flipping herself onto it like a gymnast. Not a moment too soon, either; a thick line of fire like a serpent's tongue came blasting where she had been seconds ago. The log she used as a stepping stone literally disintegrated into ashes in front of her eyes. Annabeth took this as a warning and began jumping from tree to tree. Unfortunately, whatever was following her could hear her movement she made as she took refuge in the thick foliage and was pursuing her with ease; knocking down any tree she had even dared touch. The blonde girl cringed inwardly, knowing Faunus was probably not happy with her at all at the moment.

She swung off another branch into a different tree, but at some point the creature figured out her tactic. The flames stopped burning and the trees stopped falling, but Annabeth didn't stop moving, her first huge mistake. Her second was chancing a relieved smile, because for a moment, the forest went quiet; all that could be heard was her rustling in the leaves. Her eyes widened, stopping momentarily as she tried to salvage what little camouflage she had created for herself in the tree. Too late, the tree was swatted downwards and Annabeth screamed as she fell to the ground with it, jumping to the side and barrel rolling to the ground. She lay there, groaning and wiping her face with her hand, momentarily stupefied.

Annabeth picked herself up and quickly scanned her surroundings for a hiding spot. Behind her was what she figured would logically be a fresh path of mangled and dismembered trees wave of trees. She could hear the creature's heavy breathing and smell its body odour, but by the way it snarled she could tell it had no idea where she was. To her left, there was a wave of sheep that bayed and skirted around uneasily, and straight ahead there was a fresh batch of trees for her to run into and let her pursuer burn down. It wasn't the most ideal choice, but it was either that or stay out there in the open and possibly become a human steak for whatever was behind her.

She took a step and froze in place, her pupils feeling as though they were dilating to that of a deer caught in a headlight's. The wind rushed out of her ears and suddenly everything was much clearer as her ADHD kicked in. She began using it to her own advantage, something only children of Athena could truly master. A drop of rain fell from its precarious seat on a maple leaf to the roots of a tree, splashing soundlessly. A kingfisher swept down and snatched up a flashing silver fish in mid-jump. She noted with both confusion and joy the worn down socks in the thick of a tree and her baseball hat being used as a bridge for a caterpillar.

Annabeth yelped, snatching up the item of clothing and frantically dusting off the Yankees symbol before shoving it onto her head, pulling the ponytail through the back hole. When she looked her hands over, it was as if she were looking at the ground itself; nothing was there. She chanced a peek in the pond, sighing in relief as nothing turned up in the water's surface. Whether the hat had been in her pocket or some god decided to take pity on her and give her a chance, she didn't know nor did she care; she couldn't describe it, but she felt like she was going to need it.

Taking a moment to breathe, Annabeth looked around her for shelter. She knew that being invisible may be an advantage but it wasn't much of one. Whatever was following her was _huge, _and she didn't need him stepping on her by accident. It felt as though the whole of Teutoburg forest was filled with trees and water, but finally the teen spotted it; a wave of boulders with just enough room for even Clarisse to fit in. _Should be comfy, _Annabeth thought with a smirk as she took off towards the cave, swift yet careful not to step on anything that would make huge amounts of noise.

She slid into the cave, biting back a groan as she caught her shoulder on a sharp edge. Her back pressed against the cool granite, she slowly turned her head toward the beast; it took every ounce of willpower in her not to scream. It was no doubt a giant, easily standing twenty five feet in the air with his head above the trees. He had glowing yellow eyes and with them came equally rotting teeth. There were as many warts on his face as there were trees in the forest. With cracked lips that were the size of small crevices in boulders, his breathing seemed to knock a few leaves loose from their branches. His chest was bare and filled with curly brown hairs that seemed to have a few nests with bird eggs in them; Annabeth winced at the prospect of the mother coming back home to find her nest gone. His arms were huge and looked as though basketballs had been implanted into his biceps. The giant wore no clothing besides a pair of mouldy beige britches which had cuts in the most random spots. He smelled of dried blood and his toenails alone looked like the most putrid things Annabeth had ever seen.

The demigod turned her head and looked away, a memory burning in the back of her mind. Suddenly, she could smell the strawberry fields that overlooked Coastal Sound and taste the Greek Pizza they had all eaten that day nearly nine years prior. It was as if she had been transported back in time, back to when the hatred for her dad and his new wife and the longing for a new family burned in the front of her mind at a constant rate. Annabeth could feel the tears forming in her eyes, but focus on them she did not. Instead, she kept her eyes trailed on her much younger and misty teacher. There was a large group of demigods forming a horseshoe around the centaur, the cool grass outside the Big House tickling her thighs as they rustled under the gentle spring breeze.

"_When someone says the word giant to you," Chiron asked the group, quickly silencing any other conversations, "what is the first thing that comes to mind?" Hands shot into the air, some quaking with anticipation at being chosen. One by one, kids much older than Annabeth each took their turn; she, however, kept quiet, a seven year old just trying to blend in with the others. _

"_The Empire State Building."_

"_Hell hounds!"_

"_My hands when they get stung by bees."_

"_Mr. D's stomach." There was a lot of raucous laughter, and the daughter of Athena could see that even Chiron was biting back a grin. He caught her gaze and his expression softened, turning his attention towards her. _

"_What about you, Ms. Chase," the centaur questioned, his voice warm and welcoming, "what does the word giant mean to you?" _

_She stared at him, her eyes pleading him not to do this. However, he refused to relent, instead waiting patiently for an answer. She sighed, picking her brain for the right answer; she was a daughter of Athena after all, and wouldn't settle for a half-baked answer. This was monsters class, and she knew he wouldn't be asking unless it didn't have something to do with a creature. _

"_Giants are monsters that are taller than most trees and smell worse than the worst sewers. Some work for the gods, but most want them god and kill their children, us demigods, just to spite them."_

_A shocked quiet enveloped the group as they stared at the wise little girl, the only daughter of Athena among the class. She kept her eyes trailed at her feet, not looking up even when Chiron began to speak once again. _

"_While all of those answers were correct in their own way," he resumed, his voice sounding old and European, "Ms. Chase hit home with the topic I wanted to discuss today; giants."_

Annabeth shuddered, groaning inwardly as she stared back at her pursuer. _Why did it have to be giants? _She thought to herself, pulling out her dagger and spinning the hilt around her fingers, shooting each battle strategy she thought of down as though they were targets. There was no way she could hope to take him down herself; neither Jason nor Percy could do it and they were the two most powerful demigods she knew. She could try and sneak away, but her pride was too strong and there was no way she was leaving without a fight to prove herself. Chiron had always told her to open her mind, find the monster's strengths and weaknesses. Something told her that she had already found its strengths, but what about its weaknesses?

The giant took a step, his heel landing not one foot away from the cave's entrance. Annabeth could see warts the size of her head growing out of it, and after fighting the urge to gag, she made a split second decision.

"I'm either really brave or really suicidal," she whispered to herself as she stopped twirling her dagger, steadied herself and stabbed it deep into the heel. She knew it was already Achilles' weak spot, but there was always a chance...

The beast howled as the blade cut deep, golden blood spilling out from the wound. Annabeth pushed herself out of the crevice and rushed out, shoulder-rolling out of the way. She faced the giant in her stance; he was looking around wildly, his eyes flitting around the forest like a hummingbird. The demigod smirked, a newfound confidence in her she had never thought possible. While the monster searched for someone he would never see, Annabeth racked her brain for battle strategies. Only once plausible idea came to mind, one that made her feel weak at the knees yet exhilarated at the same time. _Please let this work..._

She inhaled a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Hey giant! Over here!" She threw her voice to the left, an act she had learned from the Stoll brothers as they had worked on the _Argo II_. The act of ventriloquism worked its magic as the beast spun around, searching for her in the completely wrong direction. He picked up the boulder she had been holding in and threw it where he thought she was. She cupped her hands around her mouth like a blow horn, dropping her voice low for the added effect that multiple people were in the clearing.

"You got a name, big boy?" Again, the giant looked in the other direction, this time towards the lake. He growled, swinging a dead log and stumbling backwards as he caught air. He roared in dismay, throwing it to the ground and looking around wildly.

"Who are you?" He shouted, his voice deep and eerie. "Cacus will eat you for breakfast!" Annabeth stopped short, paling a bit. _Cacus, _she repeated in her mind, suddenly feeling quite sick to her stomach. Over the years she had dealt with many monsters; _empousai, _hell hounds, gorgons, and stymphalian birds, to name a few. Cacus, however, was a whole different ball game.

Again, Annabeth hadn't learned much about him as he was from Roman Mythology, but she knew he was a son of Vulcan, which pretty much explained the fire breathing. Chiron had also mentioned that he ate human flesh and like to decapitate his victims and nail their heads to the inside of his cave. The daughter of Athena grimaced, picking her brain for any other information. She knew that Hercules had killed him by choking him to death, but how she was supposed to do that she had no idea.

_I have to retreat, _she thought with displeasure and annoyance. _I'm no Percy Jackson or Jason Grace; I don't have any special powers like water and lightning control. Diversion, and then get out of here, quickly. _

"What an unoriginal name," she threw her voice as high pitched and as far away from her as possible. Cacus turned her back on her and pulled a fresh tree from the ground, coughing onto it and igniting the branches. Annabeth took this as her opportunity and slowly began creeping towards a beaten down path she had seen earlier; unfortunately, she stepped on a small twig, snapping it in half. She only had time to cringe at the cliché mistake before throwing herself to the left as the roots of the tree whistled past her head. She picked herself up and was shocked to find the giant staring right at her. The young teen shuffled around uneasily, beginning to creep again, watching Cacus warily. His eyes followed her every move, and any confidence Annabeth had felt before was gone now. She grabbed at her baseball cap, trying to adjust it; all she caught was a fistful of her own hair. Eyes wide with realization, she searched the ground until she caught sight of it just out of reach.

She lunged for it at the same time that Cacus circled his fingers around her waist, pulling her squirming body towards his face. She tried struggling, but any sudden movements and the monster continued to squeeze; her bones felt as though they were in a nutcracker and her lungs seemed to be the size of her thumb.

"Gaia has told me of the ones in orange shirts," the brute rumbled, his breath smelling of past victims and like they could use a good half hour wash. "She will reward me gratefully for this task."

Annabeth tried to answer him but found that what little breath she had left needed to be kept for breathing. Cacus dropped her into his other hand, and as she was gasping for fresh air like a fish, he grabbed her by her feet and flipped her upside down. Though she was next to her death, the girl was grateful she had tucked in her shirt.

"You will make a tasty snack, demigod." He chuckled, arching his neck and opening his mouth to devour her whole. As she was nearing the nape of his neck, Annabeth saw her last opportunity; she grabbed her dagger from its sheath and, in one fluid motion, cut across his Adam's apple. Golden sand like blood immediately began to pour out of the wound, and Cacus howled, dropping her to the ground and clutching at his throat.

Annabeth was equally unlucky as she fell twenty feet to the hard forest floor; she was fortunately saved by a tear in the pair of britches which she grabbed at furiously, steadying herself before sliding down his leg and landing safely on her feet. She rushed to grab her hat and turned to survey the damage.

Cacus was twisting around, wheezing as he kept his hands pressed against his throat to try and ease the flow, but to no avail. Even for a giant a cut to the throat was too precarious; he tripped on a log and fell backwards, exploding into a million tiny particles of golden dust. As the wreckage cleared, Annabeth caught sight of an overly large pair of britches with a hundred tiny tears in it. As she picked up the ruined clothing, she noticed that at the back of the pants was a tag; embroidered on it in messy writing was _Cacus. _

She folded up the spoil, threw on her Yankees cap and, after one last look towards the clearing of ruined trees, turned and rushed down the beaten down path she had passed earlier. As she disappeared from the scene, she couldn't help but realize that, unlike Percy and Jason, there was very little chance of her getting any help on a quest she didn't want to be on.


	7. Hazel I

The war room was eerily silent after Percy had punched a wall and rushed out.

"Grover," Reyna broke the silence after a couple of minutes, sitting down at the head of the table and rubbing her temples, "check on him, will you?" The satyr nodded before turning on his heel and opening the iron door. Hazel watched him leave the small room, his overly-hairy hands the last she saw of him before he disappeared from sight completely. She sighed, her heart going out to Percy; she knew how hard it was to be separated from someone you cared deeply about, but to have the one you love with all your heart wrenched away from you so suddenly must have been pure torture.

Hazel had never seen Percy and Annabeth together, but by the way he had spoken of her when he was an amnesiac, it was clear that they were inseparable. His eyes would glaze over, and after he had gotten his memories back it was as if he had to fill her and Frank in on every little thing about her. _He had been so anxious to see her again_, she thought to herself, _and when that boat had crashed… I couldn't believe such a heartbreaking tone had come from Percy. _

She bit her lip, knowing that had it been Frank in the boat that she probably would've reacted the same way. Watching everyone else shift around uneasily, it felt as though a bomb had just gone off that could have easily blown them all up, but all it had done was ruin the atmosphere. Jason was sitting on the chair opposite of Reyna, running his hands through his hair in resignation. Frank was next to Hazel, anxiously shifting around on his feet, rubbing shoulders with her and causing shivers up her spine. The Latino guy, Leo, was on the other side of the room – Hazel had made sure they were as far away from each other as possible – nervously pulling out these random items from some kind of magical tool belt. Scattered around him were the discards – a rubber duck, a screwdriver that apparently had the wrong tip, and some sort of hammer with blood on it.

Even though being in the same room with him normally would've made her uncomfortable, it wasn't the son of Vulcan that was making Hazel feel as though she needed out of that room right away; it was the two girls giving each other death glare that was freaking her out. Reyna was giving the Aphrodite kid a look that would've made anyone from Camp Jupiter wet their pants in fright. Either this Piper girl was used to this or she just had some serious guts, because she was shooting the exact same look back at the raven-haired praetor.

Hazel kicked Jason's chair, shooting him a look that clearly said, _do something! _He answered with a helpless mouthing of incoherent words before standing up and slamming his hands against the table. Everyone save Hazel jumped, looking at him in utter shock.

"Look," he said, "I know that the past eight months has been hard for us all; mine and Percy's disappearance obviously took a huge toll on a lot of people. But we didn't come all the way over here just to look so defeated after one part in the plan didn't go exactly as planned! We need to keep strong for the younger kids, for each other, for –"

"For Percy," Hazel murmured, "for Annabeth?" The room fell silent once again; the only noise being the wind chimes outside the open soundproof window. Had it not been such an upsetting thought, Hazel would've smiled triumphantly at them all, with a side of cockiness added in the corner of her eye. She was, after all, the youngest in the prophecy by nearly two years, yet none of them had even thought to speak up with such an accurate point. Jason looked back into her eyes, a look of complete deflation and defeat registering like a small lighthouse signaling for help. Besides Percy and Frank, Jason was one of her closest friends. When she had first come to camp, he had been the one to vouch for her and to have such a well respected warrior of Camp Jupiter put complete faith in her, Hazel was both touched and extremely taken aback. Since then, they had become extremely close, each telling the other their worries and fears, their deep secrets. She had always seen him as a brother, one she could look up to with no problems whatsoever because of the seemingly flawless personality and how hard he strived towards his goals.

She stepped forward, grabbing his shoulders and showing the softest smile she could muster as though comforting a small child. He offered a weak one in return, silently thanking her with his eyes before turning back towards the group. Hazel dropped back to her resting spot, feeling Frank's arm snake around her shoulders and squeezing approvingly. She smiled and leaned into him, bringing her breathing back down to normal.

Reyna stood up, addressing the whole group. "We need to figure out a plan, and we need to figure it out soon. There isn't much time before Gaia becomes strong enough to take down the whole of North America, never mind the world."

"What do you say we do then, Reyna?" Hazel queried, piecing together what her Praetor what insinuating. "You can't honestly be proposing that we leave Annabeth out there to fend for herself! You saw the way Percy acted when she was in danger; you're only going to make him more heartbroken and vulnerable!"

"Hazel's right," Piper put in, looking at each of them in turn, "you guys don't understand just how close those two are; Annabeth was barely eating, barely sleeping and crying constantly when he was missing! No one could calm her down, not Grover or even Thalia! I'm willing to bet a million bucks that Percy would be the same way, if not worse; as a matter of fact, I bet –"

"Someone give the girl her million dollar check," a voice called from the door. Everyone turned to see Grover shuffling back into the war room.

"Grover, dude," Leo said, walking over to him and surveying him with a concerned look. "Have you scarfed down one too many enchiladas again? You know what they do to you and your secrets; remember the last time when you –"

The satyr bayed resentfully, giving Leo a scornful look before whispering something about how they would never speak of the incident in the satyr party bus ever again. Hazel decided she didn't want to know.

"Look, none of you would know this besides your sister, Jason," Grover raised his voice, stepping forward into the room. "When we were fourteen, Annabeth was kidnapped by the titan Atlas, disappearing kind of like what happened earlier. Percy and her weren't even dating back then but he went absolutely _nuts_ trying to find her; tried to get a quest to search for her and everything. The hunters of Artemis, including Thalia and I, went along with them."

"Um, Grover, my sister _is _a Hunter of Artemis."

"This was a couple of days before she joined. Thalia was worried sick, of course, but Percy… he was out of his mind when she didn't turn up right away. He went up to the Oracle Room all on his own, kept getting into huge fights with Jason's sister, and when he wasn't granted permission to accompany us on the quest, he grabbed one of the _pegasi _and trailed us until Zoe Nightshade, the previous Hunters second in command, granted him access. It was scary, guys; I had never seen Percy go so commando like that, not even when his mom had disappeared. He definitely never punched a wall like earlier."

"Percy's obviously in love," Piper concluded, her arms crossed and her hips stuck out to the side. Hazel knew she liked this girl; she was pretty, confident, and seemed to be all about romance. Of course, this may have had something to do with her being the daughter of the goddess of love, but…

Reyna snorted. "Thanks, Sherlock. Where'd you come up with that conclusion, the side of a cereal box?"

The young Cherokee's ears turned red. "Of course not, and don't talk to me like I'm ten!" She sputtered. "Just because I'm the daughter of Aphrodite doesn't mean that I still can't run Katoptris through you."

"Oh, please," Reyna scoffed, waving her off, "you couldn't kill a mouse." Piper screamed something in Greek that Hazel was betting her mom probably would've washed her mouth out with soap had she heard her say such profanities. Someone tapped her on the shoulder before tugging slightly on her arm. She turned and saw Grover looking up at her, frowning as he kept pulling on her. Piper nudged Frank before following their new friend out of the building.

Grover was anxiously hopping on his hooves, baying mournfully with the cold night air. A breeze washed by and Hazel shivered, rubbing her arms up and down. The trees on the either side of the architecture were swaying slightly, and as she watched them and the satyr with both amusement and bewilderment she felt something warm wrap around her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted Frank putting his own jacket on her, and by the way the goose bumps appeared around his arm the kind gesture was not lost on her. She grabbed his hand and squeezed, pulling him closer before addressing the hybrid.

"Grover," she said, "What is it, what's up?" He looked at her, ears drooping as he looked at her in despair.

"I can't find Percy, that's what's wrong!" He groaned, grabbing the nearest piece of garbage and crunching down nervously. "I don't know the layout of this camp, and the fact that it's Roman is really throwing me off! I'm his protector, and I haven't even been able to do my job for the past nine months!"

Frank and Hazel exchanged worried glances; if Percy wasn't being located by his empathy-link-sharing satyr that can smell anything within a ten-mile radius, he was obviously trying hard not to be found.

The daughter of Pluto sighed, wondering how much worse this day could get. She wanted nothing more than to curl up into her mother's arms like she had as a four year old and listen to her hum melodiously about the monsters in her nightmares, lulling them and her to sleep every night. She knew it couldn't be, though; she hadn't had that happen to nearly… a century ago? It was all too confusing for her still, and yet she felt as though she had never belonged in that time period, like she had been born in that time period just so she could die and live here. The only thing that would have even made her hesitate would have been Arion and Sammy, but she had one of them. The other… she wasn't sure.

"You tried using the empathy link, right Grover?" He looked a bit startled at the comment, and she wondered oddly whether or not that was a private topic.

"You… You know about that?" She nodded. His expression looked taken aback. "Who told you?" Frank was giving her a perplexed look as well, and suddenly her cheeks felt as though they had been hit by high rushing winds.

"Don mentioned it a couple of days ago when he smelled Percy." She shifted on her feet awkwardly. "He's one of the fauns that stick around camp to beg for money. He only likes me because I'm not as rude as some of the other campers."

Grover looked like he was about to reply to her when suddenly Frank smacked his hand against his head, groaning as though he had been knocked unconscious. "Boy, am I stupid," he muttered to himself, just loud enough for Hazel to hear.

"What is it, Frank?"

"Well, if Grover can't smell Perce, it's probably because he's sniffing for a familiar scent, right?" Hazel nodded, now as confused as her boyfriend had been a few moments ago. "Well, he hasn't been to the other camp in, what, eight months?"

Grover snapped his fingers, smiling wide to his new friends as he stopped fidgeting long enough to laugh. "Hey, I see what you're saying! If I could get a whiff of whatever new scent he has, I can find Percy!"

"Well," Hazel said, feeling as though she had found an uncursed diamond, "what are we waiting for? To the barracks!"


	8. Hazel II

**Hey guys! If you want to read another MoA story, **_**smileey4percy**_ **on fanfiction has started one! Please go read it! :D**

Unlike Percy, Hazel wasn't that fond of her living quarters. Whereas the older kids got down pillows and blankets as fluffy as a fresh winter snow, the younger ones' wool duvets were scratchy and uncomfortable, the pillows lacking in any fluffy cushioning, case in point. When you turned sixteen, you got the upgrade because you had survived long enough in the legion to deserve comfort after a battle, but until then they were forced to use the spare, torturous blankets that Reyna said "built character".

She steered Grover and Frank through the maze of beds, carefully avoiding any of Venus' daughters' residences, knowing that if one of them even bumped them, they were all doomed to smell of some over-extravagant perfume that would burn your eyes for days afterward.

Hazel cleared the last half of the room, throwing her hands in the air and high-fiving Frank as they celebrated their victory over not becoming the victims of ungodly smells once again. They jumped in the air as they heard a bleat of dismay and a crash. They turned back to the room, finding Grover on the ground and covered in bottles and containers of makeup, most either broken on the ground or on his furry legs, creating a beautiful yet slightly disturbing swirl of colours.

The satyr laughed nervously, attempting to get back up but only slipping on a puddle of foundation. Frank groaned before walking over and helping their friend to his feet, pulling him back to where Hazel was pinching the bridge of her nose in both annoyance and anxiety.

"Please tell me that your Aphrodite girls won't kill me for that like ours would," Grover whimpered, looking around him frantically. Hazel heard Frank mutter something about him being "one dead little faun"; she rolled her eyes and walked into the boys quarters, the other two trailing behind her.

She slipped into the room, silent and swift like a ferret. Her ears were ringing; she hated coming into the boys room because of the over empowering sense that diamonds were going to come rushing at her full speed like a bullet. It was the bedposts, which were all made of varying mosaic tiles that glinted around the room as the sun kissed the room goodnight before falling peacefully into slumber. The girls used to have the same thing, until Hazel had 'accidentally' seen a fly jump from one to the other and smashed them all in one sitting. When she was younger, she had to walk by a church on her way home from the market with her mom; she'd have to close her eyes and try not to scream as her mother steered her away from them quickly, leaving the enchanting, and demonic windows.

She winced, trying to focus on Percy's bed, but she felt disoriented; a table lamp was casting bright blue and pink silhouettes across her face, diamonds and amethysts dancing mockingly around her eyes. She stumbled a bit, and Frank must've noticed, because suddenly she had fallen onto his bent knee and was caught by a pair of strong arms. She glanced up at him, his eyebrows pulled together in concern.

"Grover," he said, his eyes never leaving hers, "turn off the lamp." The satyr looked ready to question it, but one look at Hazel's sweating face and she could tell he knew it wasn't time for that. He flicked the switch, casting the room into a shadow of darkness not unlike anything Hazel had ever been in, and her mind began to clear. She clutched at Frank's hand until her raging mind calmed some. Though to be truthful she held on for an extra minute or two just because it sent electric tingles through her veins.

"I'm okay," she finally said, looking at Frank's doubtful face. "Really Frank, we have to find Percy." She could see his resolve crumbling behind his eyes, slowly helping her back up as though she were nothing short of breaking down if he let her go. She wobbled for a moment, soon regaining composure and walking hurriedly over to Percy's bed, tossing up a pillow for Grover, who caught it in his mouth, sniffing furiously. His eyes scanned the room, stopping briefly on the window before turning back to his companions, a nearly imperceptible fire lit behind his pine bark brown eyes.

"His scent path shows he walked out the door and went that way, towards the west." He started forward, but Hazel hung back with Frank, confused at what had just taken place.

"Grover," she called, causing the satyr to turn around, "how did you do that?"

"Yeah," Frank continued, "and what exactly is a scent path?" Grover looked between each of them, eyebrows raised, before sighing and looking out the window, a wistful expression on his face.

"I'm a searcher; I have been ever since Percy finished his first quest at camp. He didn't need me as much anymore, and it had been my dream to become a searcher, someone who looks for the god Pan. When you get your horn and license, you learn certain abilities, like following a scent path. Scent paths are like those glowing pathways you see in a video game showing you the way to your destination; only with searchers, you need a specific scent to go off of. When Percy and I were thirteen, I memorized his scent, so I've been able to find him fairly quickly. Ever since he disappeared, though…" Grover shook his head. "It's like someone changed it completely."

"What does he, uh," Hazel rubbed her neck awkwardly, both curious and completely embarrassed to ask. "What does he smell like?" She could hear Frank stifling a chuckle, and she elbowed him playfully in the stomach, her cheeks burning like two pieces of coal.

"He used to smell like strawberries, blue chocolate chip cookies and the River Styx," Grover replied. "Now he smells like a swearing horse, some disgusting tea, and, well, death." Hazel exchanged glances with Frank, their eyes finding the other's quickly. She and him sighed, turning back towards Grover.

"The horse is from my potty-mouth stallion, Arion."

"You can thank Iris for the tea; I would've taken that over fighting basilisks."

"And the death smell can be from either Thanatos or me."

Grover's face went from confused, to stunned, and back to confused, as though he were stuck in a continuous loop of perplexity and shock. There was a pregnant pause before Frank broke the silence.

"_Blue _chocolate chip cookies?" He choked out, his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion; Hazel thought it both endearing and amusing when he did that. Grover just laughed nervously and led them back out into the girls' dorms. Hazel followed Frank and him out, her mind wandering back to the question she had been asking herself ever since she had met Percy; _what was his life like before coming here?_

So immersed in her own thoughts was she that ramming into Frank's still body brought her back to the present. She grabbed onto his purple camp shirt for support, head reeling from the blow; she sometimes forgot that, despite all of Frank's more youthful appearances, he was every bit as muscular and manly as the rest of the Ares kids. He didn't even tense his muscles when she ran into him; it reminded her of running into walls as a kid, where those were just as immobile.

Still balling his shirt in her fists, she took a cautious peek around him. She saw Grover, who looked a bit green even though she couldn't see his face, and it sounded as though he were tapping his hooves nervously on the ground. Looking a little farther ahead, she realized that wasn't the case; silver, five-inch high heels were slowly moving up and down. Matching pairs, four in all, flanked out on either shoe, each one differently coloured and as sharp as a wooden stake. Hazel could just make out the hems of black tights, light-wash skinny jeans, and skin, probably a knee-high skirt.

Hazel groaned inwardly, her heart racing. _Why now? _

She stepped out of the shadows, watching the head Venus daughter glare furiously at them, palming an empty bottle of lip gloss.

"Alright," Alexis fumed, "which one of you was it?"

Grover looked ready to faint, and Hazel's heart went out to him; Frank, however, apparently had different plans. He grabbed the daughter of Pluto, threw her onto his back, and whispered to Grover, "Sorry, buddy. We have to find Percy, and you need to be our distraction." Frank took off past the girls, screaming, "He did it!" while pointing at the shocked satyr.

For a moment, everything was calm as he and Hazel rushed off. She was about to chastise him for leaving their new friend behind, but suddenly, Frank wasn't Frank. He was a grizzly bear, with coarse brown fur that smelled of pine needles and a white snout topped with a cute button nose. He was sniffing eagerly, taking off with his enormous paws before slamming down on his hind legs and braking right next to the river banks surrounding the camp.

Hazel jumped off of him, too shocked that she just rode a grizzly bear that for a moment, she didn't notice her best friend. When she did, however, she could see his silhouette down a little ways away, dipping his feet in the water and looking up. Frank, now fully transformed back into himself, walked alongside her to Percy.

As they got closer, Frank squeezed her hand before pushing her along. She looked back at him questioningly; he motioned for her to go forward. Hazel took a deep breath, getting right up next to the son of Poseidon and sitting down. He never once looked up. They sat there together for a moment, silence enveloping them as though it were a letter yet to be read.

Percy finally broke the silence. "When I was twelve, I lost my mom to Hades. I got a quest, brought Annabeth and Grover with me, we got her back. When I was thirteen, Grover got kidnapped by Polyphemus. We didn't get a quest, but Annabeth and I snuck out of camp with Tyson and saved him. That Christmas, Annabeth was taken by Atlas. She held the weight of the sky on her shoulders, and we just barely got her and Artemis out of there. When the big battle against Kronos happened… I almost lost her again. She got stabbed in the shoulder. We thought after that, we couldn't have been luckier."

Hazel heard him take a shuddery breath, and she realized with start that he had a single, lone tear trailing down his cheek. She wanted nothing more than to comfort her best friend, especially since she knew how he felt.

"Then I went missing, and… now she's gone, and I don't know where she is. I thought this would have been done last year. I thought…" He grabbed his head in his hands and his shoulders began to shake. "I thought we'd have some peace! I didn't expect either of us to go missing, especially not me! And right when we see each other again, it's just a glimpse!"

"Percy…" Hazel was at a loss for words. She couldn't tell him everything was going to be alright; she couldn't tell him that, no matter how things seemed now, they were going to brighten up in the future. She couldn't say that because, as much as she wanted to, it might be false. Annabeth could've died in that flash of light, and from what Percy had told her about the daughter of Athena and Hera's relationship, it was a liable possibility.

As though he could hear her thoughts, Percy made a sudden motion with his hands; the water of the river flew upwards, suspended in the skies above them as though held there by an invisible force field.

"This is all Hera's fault!" He screamed suddenly, his face turning a deep shade of red, the water beginning to steam like a sauna to match his rage. "If she hadn't sent me away, if she had just given us a quest to find the Roman camp, we would've been together! We could've had some peace, some actual time to wrap our head around things _for once_!" The water slammed back down as Percy retracted his hand, holding it as though it had touched a searing hot plate. "Why…"

"Percy, you know why; if she hadn't, if she had just given you a quest, you'd probably be dead! Annabeth too!" Tentatively, she put her hand on his shoulder and crouched down, trying to capture his attention. "I promise you, I am going to do everything in my power to reunite you and her; you have to trust me."

Frank suddenly sat down next to Percy, patting his friend on the back. "Trust _us,_" he said, finalizing the matter. Hazel smiled at her friends, knowing things were going to be better, just not sure how yet.

Percy looked at Frank, then at her. He smiled cautiously, before looking up into the sky. It seemed to call them into the endless dark, like it had back in the Arctic; and it was just like then. Gaia, monsters, and fears all seemed to be engulfed by the black night, turned into bright white stars that twinkled away. And, for a moment, everything felt as though they didn't need to do anything; they could just stay here forever, entranced by the beautiful night sky.

If only for a moment.

**Well hello everyone! New chapter! I found this one a bit boring to write, but I loved the ending! It flowed from my fingertips in legitimately ten minutes. :woot: **

**Ah Grover, you are such a fool. Don't worry, we will find out about what happened to you next chappie! ;) **

******Dear _Simply Cool, G0ldenlce24, sportschic5646, Tyrannster, hvmc5, mm786,_ and _Michelle Canada, _**

**I must thank you for adding me or my story to either your alerts or favourites! You are all wonderful, and I appreciate it so! **

**_smileey4percy3: _Yes, yes you did, thanks again! I will keep posting, just for you and anyone else who actually reads this. xDD Shhhhh, he went crazy in my mind. LOOOL thanks again budd! :)**

**_DreigoAgnet: _Thanks dude! I totally forgot I wrote that, kind of fail. xD I was like, whoa, I came up with that myself? Good one, me! ;) HEY! Tragic beginnins are my specialty! :O LOOOOL **

**Thanks again everyone; I should have posted wednesday, would've been a great way to end my birthday ;) sorry guys! Hope this made up for it! :) **

**~Sistergrimm97(seaotter007)  
><strong>


	9. Hazel III

The dining pavilion was as crowded as a mall on a rainy day. There was something that made the air both peaceful and unsettling, which to Hazel was more than slightly ironic. She could only pin it on the scenery and the sense of impending doom that seemed to follow her and the rest of her new companions wherever they went.

She couldn't complain about the weather, she was sure of that; the clouds seemed to have gone on vacation, and not just in the camp. She could see clear blue skies for miles on end. The sun was still rising slightly, but it had cleared the horizon like a snowboarder on the half pipe. The air smelled like link sausages and scrambled eggs, though Hazel was sure she could also detect a hint of burning wood behind all that.

She glanced behind her, taking in the remains of the _Argo II. _Half the mast had utterly crumpled to the ground, while the starboard was still smouldering from yesterday's attack. Earlier this morning, she had been awoken by orders of heave-ho's. When she had wrapped her blanket around her as a shield against the crisp morning air, she had found Jason, Frank, Percy and half a dozen sons of Mars tugging the once-glorious dragon's head out of the wreckage. She could see Leo perched on top of it, frantically tugging out wires and screaming orders at some other campers for extra parts.

Hazel sighed, turning back to her food and picking at it relentlessly. She glimpsed around the table; Frank was at the other end, talking to Percy about the new prophecy. Piper and Leo sat across from each other, arguing relentlessly about how the daughter of Aphrodite would prefer that he date some Khione girl over Reyna, whatever that meant. That left Jason and her, sitting side by side, each eating their food anxiously.

The daughter of Pluto stared quietly at the scrambled eggs and sausage links, working up the nerve to talk to Jason. _Come on, _she thought to herself, mentally smacking herself between the eyes. _This is _Jason_! Why are you so scared of him all of a sudden?_

She realized it wasn't him that scared her; it was what he, and the rest of the Seven – as kids began to call them at camp – stood for. Percy had told her and Frank of a prophecy that was to be fulfilled by the six of them plus another. Hazel had a funny feeling that the seventh was a certain blonde haired girl whose whereabouts were unknown. She wondered what Annabeth was like from eyes besides Percy's, and was just about to ask Jason, when he unknowingly interrupted her.

"This Percy kid..." He nodded toward him, and Hazel somehow knew he was talking to her. "What's he like? I've only ever heard stories of his great heroics, and what Annabeth has said about him. What's _your _take on him?" The young teen shot a quick look at her new friend, taking in how his smile was half-hearted and his attempts to seem interested only three quarters there.

"He reminds me of you, if you really want to know." She smiled at him, elbowing him lightly and playfully. "It's like… he knows how to be a leader, even if he doesn't see himself as one. And when it's time for someone else to be in the limelight, he takes them getting the credit with a smile on his face. He's funny, and understanding, and he understands what it's like to feel loss. He was very sympathetic to Frank and me, and I guess somehow we were patient with him and his memories."

Jason stared at her, confusion and doubt filling every gap in his eyes. He said, "You don't really expect me to believe you think that highly of me, do you?"

Hazel laughed, something she was more than glad to do in light of the events in the last twenty-four hours. She smiled, punched the son of Jupiter in the shoulder and rolled her eyes. If there was one thing she'd never get over, it was how difficult the guys she hung out with took compliments.

"Let's just say, I like having two brothers instead of just one. You'll get along great, trust me."

"And what about him?" Jason nodded his head toward Frank. "Is he your 'brother' too? Because it certainly doesn't look like it to me." He added quotation marks to brother, and winked as he finished off his sentence. Hazel's face felt as though it lit up like the Fourth of July, and she was about to reply when someone coughed behind her.

What she saw when she turned around made her just about die right then and there; if there was one thing she'd never expected to see, it was a male faun look like a Barbie doll. Grover's face was completely caked in makeup, from sparkly purple eye shadow to thick black mascara that seemed to weigh down his eyelids. He had been all but assaulted with foundation and blush, and his lips were a bright blood red as though he had cut them. His hair had been – gods forbid – dyed an unnaturally neon pink with leopard print, and his goat fur had curlers in them. His nails and hooves had been painted baby blue, and they had pierced his ears, bright yellow orchids framing his ears. The satyr looked absolutely humiliated; his shoulders slumped as everyone at the table burst into fits of laughter. The rest of the group had heard about last night's events already, and were quite honestly not surprised.

Hazel laughed for a moment before clamping her hand across her lips, trying to calm herself down. It was definitely funnier than the time she had seen Percy with his man-purse. Most of the group was snickering behind their hands by now, but when she heard a loud _thump! _at the other end of the table, she could already guess who it was before she saw him.

There was Percy, lying on the ground next to his seat, grabbing his sides and rolling over in laughter. He kept forming incoherent words, his eyes bugging out before he squeezed them shut again. The whole scene would've been hilarious, but Hazel figured that everyone was much too relieved to see Percy acting like an idiot rather than someone who wouldn't be able to lead them into battle from depression, to really care that he looked like a mental patient.

"I'm glad I amuse you," Grover grumbled, though Hazel could see the smile tugging at his lips. He was just as happy to see him back to his old self as the others were. "Reyna wants us in her office right now."

"You actually went to see her looking like that?" Leo exclaimed, his voice an octave higher than normal because he was still chortling. "Dude, even _I'm _not that desperate!"

"I didn't go looking for her!" The half-goat hybrid replied indignantly. "She, well… She kind of found me tied up on the Venus' daughter's beds." The last statement caused even Hazel to break out into raucous laughter. Grover's ears turned pink. "Anyways, I'm supposed to wash up and meet you there, so go before she kills us all!"

The group, still chuckling over the last five minutes, quickly left the dining hall. Hazel and Jason had just stepped foot onto grass when she spotted it; a bright pink amethyst the size of an iPod. She gasped, watching as the dirt that partially covered it swept away, polishing itself as though its own personal jeweller.

She gasped, picking it up with shaky hands. She wasn't sure what to believe; to be honest, she had thought it would've ceased after their trip to Alaska. Not a single precious metal had popped up in three days.

Obviously, there was a bigger quest to deal with before she lost the curse. Fighting back tears, she looked up into the sky and took a deep breath. Looking ahead, she caught Jason's eye. It was one of shock, one that expressed disbelief at what he had just seen. Not because he just watched her conjure up an expensive piece of rock, but because he had thought she couldn't.

Hazel had told him yesterday that the curse was gone. He had been the only one besides Frank and Percy to know; they too thought it was gone.

She pocketed the amethyst and strode forward, not bothering to look back as she walked off to the meeting room.

* * *

><p>Eight chairs placed around the chrome table, all of them filled with Hazel's companions, Grover – who was now looking like a boy satyr again, though his goat fur was still curled – and Reyna. Everyone was having their own conversation, deeply immersed in their own worlds when their female praetor stood up.<p>

"Demigods, you are seated before me today because it's time we talk about the quest you must embark upon." Hazel watched everyone shift uncomfortably in their seats, stealing nervous glances at the people around them. There was a pregnant pause, as though Reyna had just told them she was a four legged rooster in disguise. Hazel was starting to feel overly anxious when Piper broke the silence.

"Why us?" The daughter of Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at the praetor. "Why not someone else?" There were some murmurs of confusion, some curious to know why it had to be them.

Reyna scoffed. "As much as I would love for you to fall off the face of the Earth, I'm not sending you on a suicide mission. You're all going because whether you like it or not, you are six of the seven in the Prophecy. It was written in the stars when you formed two groups and had your own separate quests."

"So who's the seventh?" Hazel asked, no longer able to bear it. She was dying to know, more than when she was younger and wanted to know who her dad was. However, one look at Percy's stone-cold face was enough to make her guess.

"The last one is the daughter of Bellona, Annabeth Chase." Yup; she had definitely called that one.

"How can you be sure?" Hazel asked, no longer afraid to talk in front of everyone. "Who told you she was the seventh?"

"I did."

Everyone whirled around in their seats, and standing in the doorway was someone that made Hazel's insides turn to knots. She didn't like Octavian, of course; he scared her and infuriated her at the same time. The guy walked in there as though it was him room and they were merely guests, coming to stand next to Reyna, who flinched when their skins touched. His eyes swept the room before landing on Jason. A malevolent grin spread on his face.

"Hello, Grace." The son of Jupiter looked close to jumping out of his seat and punching the Augur in the nose. Hazel clamped her hand down on his shoulder and noticed Piper doing the same. The other girl noticed her glance and smiled slightly, mouthing thanks to Hazel as she waved in return.

"Octavian." Hazel could've sworn that had been repeated twice, and she was right as she saw Percy's nose crinkle. She motioned for Frank to calm Percy down, and she smothered a giggle as the son of Mars punched their friend in the shoulder. Percy's shoulders relaxed slightly, but he still bore the look of absolute hatred. "What's _he _doing here?"

Reyna sighed. "He is the camp Augur. I figured he may have had some information, and I was right. He has told me that the seventh is your girlfriend, and that in order for your group to be complete you must go and find her."

"Yeah, well that was the plan from the beginning," Percy shoved his chair backwards and stood up, heading for the door. "Now if you don't mind, I'd rather be getting ready to go instead of wasting time with this bozo.

Hazel looked on as he began to cross the table, feeling nothing but agreement. She hated that guy; he made her feel… creepy, which took a lot because of her dad. She was about to get up and follow him out like the others seemed to be doing, when an orb opened up in the middle of the table.

And she meant _opened up. _It was as though it had always been there, waiting for the right moment to break loose and cause havoc. The shock sent everyone flying into the walls, and Hazel would've been lying if she said it only hurt a bit. When the room had stopped spinning and had come into focus again, she stared at the glowing circle, utterly dumbstruck.

It was probably no bigger than her head, and it glowed a deep mix of purple and orange. It rotated like a globe and was shaped like one as well. The edges crackled with energy like a fireball, and the middle was completely see-through. Where the other side of the room should've been, though, was a forest, which looked as though it were autumn.

"Did you open that thing?" She could hear Frank scream behind her.

"Of course not!" Octavian shouted back.

The daughter of Pluto watched closely; for a moment, it looked like a normal forest. But as she looked more closely, she could see that the dead leaves on the ground were beginning to liven up and float upwards, back onto the tree as though a video tape on reverse.

"Whoa…" She breathed, transfixed by the sheer impossibility of it all. The room was silent after they noticed the sort of television set that had randomly appeared in their meeting. The image had fully transformed itself into summer, and from the bottom right corner Hazel saw a tan foot step onto the now bright green grass. She kept staring until a blonde teenager, bloody and bruised, had come out into the spotlight, grasping onto tree branches.

Behind her, Grover and Percy gasped. "Annabeth!"

The daughter of Athena kept stumbling forward, wincing in pain and clutching her side. Hazel watched in horror as blood slowly seeped through her fingers like molasses overflowing from a bowl.

The child of Pluto turned towards her companions, revealing each of their own stupefied expressions. Percy's face had drained of all colour, his breathing as shallow as a kiddie pool and sweat running down his face as though he had a fever. He had his hands pressed firmly on the wall behind him, his mouth contorted in a pained grimace and his eyes so wide Hazel was concerned they might pop out of their sockets.

She heard someone gasp, and from behind her she could just make out Leo crying, "What the – who's that?"

In the ominous orb, Annabeth had turned her back on a beautiful blue lake. A faun, probably the oldest and burliest Hazel had ever seen, stood in the trees. He had long ram horns and sturdy hooves that looked as though they could knock your brains out in a single knock to the head.

Just as Hazel was about to question the sudden appearance of this godly version of a Skype call, the thick branches gave way to a clearing that looked as though a bomb had gone off. However, the foliage was flattened to the ground and snapped in half as though it had been stepped on, and by the way the destruction seemed to delve deep into the woods as a one-way path instead of knocking down the whole thing, she figured it wasn't a random storm. There only seemed to be two trees standing in the whole clearing, two distorted ones that sat side by side in the middle and were lighter than the rest.

The air seemed to shimmer on the edge of the clearing to the right, and suddenly one of the trees picked itself up, revealing itself to be not a large oak or evergreen but a furry, grotesque foot. Whatever that thing was, it was strong, because a second later a blazing tree came flying into the left side of the orb. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw everyone startle backwards from where they had landed.

A giant suddenly came into focus, one so ugly it probably would've made the gorgons turn to stone themselves. His eyes contained a sort of fire that was so filled with hatred, they made the dark skinned teen flinch. He opened his mouth, showing off a set of rotting green teeth, but when it looked like it had bellowed no sound came out. Hazel figured the window they were watching through wasn't susceptible to sound.

The monster picked up another tree, coughed and lit it aflame, and suddenly, it was staring straight at Annabeth, who had materialized out of nowhere. It threw the tree, the roots narrowly missing her head, and Annabeth froze. Hazel watched as her eyes darted back and forth between the giant and a battered old Yankees cap. Obviously, what the daughter of Pluto saw next was a last-ditch effort.

Percy's girlfriend threw herself at the Yankees cap, but the giant was fast too. In one swift motion, he had her caught up in his arms and was bringing her towards him.

And just as fast as the orb had come, it disappeared again.

The room was left in a silence so unnerving and scary Hazel wanted to scream and break it. She tried, too, but no sound came out. No one spoke, no one coughed, and if someone was breathing she couldn't hear it.

Someone got up, and it wasn't until Percy walked, unnaturally calm, to the door, that she reacted.

"Percy, wait, we –" The son of Neptune turned to face her and the others, cutting her off short. There was something in his expression, something so not Percy and yet a complete reminder of how serious he can be, that made her stop short.

"No more waiting," he said, his voice loud and final. "I don't care if we don't know where she is, all I know is that she's somewhere in Rome. The prophecy says so. I don't care if one of you comes or if all of you comes, and I will leave without you guys if you don't want to come. But guys, my best friend and girlfriend might've just been eaten by a snot-dripping giant. I know you guys are coming; I can see it in your eyes. So I'm going to say this once only; we leave _tonight._"

He walked out of the room, and Hazel knew that, like her, everyone was left with the same gnawing intensity in the pit in their stomachs.

**Longest chapter eva for the win? ;D **

**Seriously though, this was SUCH a fun chapter to write. You all either love me or hate me, but I am proud. Which is really self-depricating, but whatever! :D**

**Ah Grover, you never fail to get yourself in the worst situations ever. :3 **

**Special thank to _Annabeth luvs Percy, pandasister, bookworm909, SissiDaughterOfPoseidon, , _and _MidnightForever17 _for either favouriting me or my story or aleting to me or my story. ;) (I'm sorry if I missed anyone, I need to get my emails organized better! D:)**

_**Annabeth luvs Percy: **_**Haha, I'm glad you enjoy it! :D Hey, lemme just say this: I can't reveal spoilers, and they won't be getting back together... yet. ;) I LOVE HOW YOU SAID PLEASE! IT MADE MY DAY! :heart: Thankies! :)**

_**bookworm909: **_**Why thank you, I really appreciate it. :3 And yes, I will definitely try and get to that! :) Hopefully I am not swamped with homework, but I'll at least check it out, kay? Thanks for reading! :D **

_**bluechocolate21(): **_**Why... why thank you! :D I really appreciate it. ;) Yeah, it's kind of like, "I just want to write about romance!" or "ANGST IS LURV!" D: Which is fine, it's their stories, but I like action mixed in. :) O don't worry, you'll find out about him soon enough**.

**Well, here is 3,086 words for you. Be happy and content with this, because things are going to epic after this! **

**ALSO! I need to knoww... Who's POV next? One of the six/seven of the prophecy, or Annabeth? :) Lemme know guys! **

**Sistergrimm97 (seaotter007 on dA)**


	10. Jason I

Jason knocked on Reyna's doorway, tapping his hands anxiously at his side as he waited in uncomfortable silence for the mahogany door to open its mouth.

He couldn't help but to think to himself how awkward this was going to be. If there was one thing the son of Jupiter couldn't even begin to stomach, it was being alone with someone he knew he had more than likely hurt. One time, after he had traveled from the Wolf House and saw Camp Jupiter for the first time, he had accidentally flown ten feet in the air in front of one of the daughters of Ceres, and of course she had proceeded to grow a whole tomato plant before promptly fainting to the ground. Jason had only been seven at the time, but he still felt bed because of the grapefruit-sized lump she had on her head for a month afterwards. She had accepted his apology, sure, but every time someone commented or poked it, he felt a little guiltier.

The door creaked open, inviting the demigod's attention with its eerie cackle. Reyna stood next to it, holding the brass knob and staring him up and down as though deciding whether or not he was there to finally give her a proper hello. Her eyes had dark circles rimming the bottom, and the braid she normally kept her hair in was disorderly and sticking out in different places. Jason winced, knowing that the last few days had definitely not what he had been anticipating. There had been way too many random events – like the boat blowing to smithereens, or Annabeth getting taken by his patron goddess, or having Grover turn into the first satyr Barbie doll. Even through all those disturbing moments, he still had to deal with Piper and Reyna. The daughter of Bellona had looked so happy to see him, but the moment Piper had ran over to him, throwing her arms around him and thanking him up and down for saving her life, he knew the moment was ruined. The praetor's eyes had gotten all stormy and deep, and when he had introduced the two girls, they both glowered at each other as though sizing the other up.

Yeah, it was definitely safe to say that things could've gone _a lot_ smoother.

Jason looked at his old friend, feeling more uncomfortable with every passing moment her intense gaze stared into his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, looking to the ground before taking a deep breath. _This is ridiculous, _he scolded to himself. _You've been friends for a long time. Why can't you just talk to her?_

_Because of Piper, _a voice in the back of his chided.

_Shut up!_

He looked back at Reyna, who had her eyebrows raised in the same expression she gave the campers whose excuses for being late were things like personal issues or an involuntary muscle spasm. Cursing that look and everything it meant, he took a deep breath and blurted out, "Can we talk?"

Immediately, his face flushed. If there was one thing Jason knew about relationships, even metaphorical ones, it was that those words should never, _ever, _be uttered. Luckily for him, Reyna hadn't seen much of the world, and the explosive sentence was completely lost on her.

"Alright," she replied, opening the door widely so that he could pass. The demigod walked past her, but he stopped for a single second in front of her, accidentally making contact with her shoulder.

His senses went nuts; she smelled of rosemary and fresh, wild parsnips that grew out on the Field of Mars in the fall. His face absolutely boiled from the temperature his blood was giving off, and he scurried past Reyna, who looked much calmer than he did.

What bothered Jason was neither the fact that he was blushing, nor that the female Praetor hadn't seemed electrified by their touch. It wasn't that he had smelled his childhood in that one instance, or that he was now in a room alone with her.

It was the fact that a year ago, before he was snatched from her and his home, he would've been tingling from head to toe when they brushed body parts. It was that back then, he had the biggest crush on her ever, and now it was like he couldn't ever see it working out.

By the gods, he was going to give himself over to Gaia if this kept up.

"So," Reyna said, shutting the door and leaning against the Praetor's desk. Argentum and Aurum sat on either side, their usual unnerving scowls replaced by panting smiles as they saw Jason. Aurum barked happily, and Argentum wagged his tail as though he had just been offered a brand new rubber ball. "What do you want to talk about?"

He didn't know what he was doing, but the Grace son found himself in some sort of weird trance. He picked himself up, and without even thinking about what he was doing, wrapped Reyna up in his arms, closing his eyes in the process. She tensed under his hold, but soon she seemed to relax and gingerly encircled her arms around him too. He could tell she was confused, but he had felt some odd, compelling reason to hug his old friend.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, not knowing why he had said it but realizing it needed to be said. His breath pushed a loose strand of hair from her braid backwards, and he watched as it fluttered for a moment before dying again.

Reyna pulled herself away, looking Jason straight in the eyes as though she could take away all the confusion. "What are you sorry for?" She smiled softly, though it looked slightly forced. "You've done nothing wrong!"

"I'm sorry I just disappeared like that," he answered, running a hand through his hair and looking straight back at her. If there was one thing he wouldn't do, it was ever break contact with someone at such a serious time. "I'm sorry I left you to be a Praetor, and I'm sorry that everyone had to deal with it. I'm sorry if you thought I had abandoned you, and I'm sorry that no matter what I say, things will never be the same. I'm sorry that –"

Reyna cut him off with such ease, he remembered she had been doing it for years. "None of this was your fault. You needed to do it, although you could've sent me a message or something. It's not like you wouldn't have done it if you had been given a choice, and frankly none of us would've wanted you to."

Jason wasn't sure whether that had been meant as a compliment or not, so he just nodded and said nothing like a kid who was taking constructive criticism quietly. Reyna began stacking papers on her desk quietly, and the son of Jupiter looked around the room. No matter what any of them said, he knew his old friends wouldn't just be able to bring this back to normal.

"Besides," Reyna said, breaking off the quiet enveloping this room. A smile was laced between her words. "Percy came around, and you two are so much alike that it's almost scary. You should've seen the way he cracked open the fifth cohort, having everyone flock to him. They hadn't acted like that since… well, you know."

Jason didn't know, but he had enough sense to piece it together; _since he had vanished. _Then his mind floated back to what she had first said about Percy.

"Reyna," he said slowly, "did you hit on that guy?"

The rustling of the papers stopped; it was as if he had pressed a pause button on a movie. The trees outside the window didn't flutter with the breeze, and if the daughter of Bellona had so much as twitched, he hadn't caught it. Slowly, the play button was pressed, and ever so slowly, the papers were put down. Her face was a bright shade of red.

"Excuse me?" The voice was dangerously calm, and Jason thought he must've been a complete idiot to have even brought it up. He was probably even stupider to say something else, but really, who wouldn't?

"Oh my _gods_," Jason exclaimed, his jaw going slack. "You did! You totally tried to flirt with the guy, didn't you! I cannot believe that _you, _of all people, would –"

Reyna was less than ten millimeters apart from him, and she had her hands on his chest. She bore a look of absolute rage, and Jason gulped inwardly. He watched as she set her jaw, her eyes squinted as though she couldn't see a thing.

"Now you listen to me good, Jason Grace. I am a Praetor, and so is he; we both have responsibilities, and we've both been extremely professional about how we conduct ourselves. Not to mention the fact that the only person he remembered was his girlfriend, so why would it matter either way?"

"Because you tried to get the curve ball and struck out?"

Wrong thing to say; Jason could've sworn her face was ten times darker than a plum. She got even closer to his face, standing on her tiptoes to get eye level with him. Her hair was messy and her nose touching his. She looked ready to bring her knee up at any moment, and briefly he wondered if he was fast enough to at least try to protect himself.

There was a quick knock at the door, and Piper walked in, saving his flying butt from being rearranged.

"Hey Jason, I'm supposed to let you know that we're leaving in the next hour and to…" Her voice trailed off as she frowned. "Be ready to pack."

Too late, Jason figured out he might be in an even worse situation. Here was Piper, who had been led on to believe they had been dating before all this had happened, and who still very much liked him, walking in on him and another girl from camp, both looking very overheated and disorderly. He didn't understand girls, but he was fairly certain that when you interrupt someone's heated discussion on flirting when they're nose-to-nose, bad conclusions can be drawn.

He took a step backwards, thanking whatever god that was responsible for breaking awkward moments, and cursing the god who had created them. He looked between the girls, before weakly asking, "How did you know I was in here?"

"Hazel told me she saw you going into the Praetor's office earlier when we had spoken," she explained, her scowl lessening but staying on her face. She looked Reyna up and down before crossing her arms. "Looks like I got here right on time."

The female Praetor's face darkened. "Please, daughter of Venus. You would do well to know that it is impolite to just barge in without warning."

"I knocked!"

"Without waiting for a response, might I add. You obviously have no idea how to conduct yourself in a social place. Although from what I've heard, you just charm speak and people forget how much of a spoiled brat you are."

Piper's face went red with anger. _Oh my gods, _he thought to himself, _I'm in the middle of what's about to be a huge cat fight. _His eyes widened, his lips opening in an unspoken curse. He didn't want this to happen; not because of him.

"Uh, right," Jason said, stepping between the two of them. He looked at Reyna, silently pleading her with his eyes to stop for one single second, then turned to Piper. "An hour, did you say? We had better go and pack then. We'll talk when we get back, Reyna."

Both girls continued to glare at each other, their eyes sending poison into the other's face. Mentally, Jason groaned and rubbed his hand down his face, but from what they could see he probably had let out a sigh of relief. Grabbing his new friend's arm, he pulled her outside of the door. When they were safely outside, Piper pulled her hand out of his and scowled at him.

"What were you two doing?"

"We were just talking!"

She rolled her eyes, sighing and brushing past him. "Whatever, Jason."

"Piper, wait!" But she had already gone, passing into a crowd of kids from the first legion. When the thick mass of people had passed, her retreating figure was gone. Jason kicked a rock into the nearest tree, watching in satisfaction as it made a good-sized dent into it.

_It's good to be home, _he thought to himself before trudging towards the fifth barracks.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm so so SO sorry about that wait. I Forgot to post on here again -_-' <strong>

**Scary story, my dog had to get surgery on his throat because we found this bulging spot... At first they said it was cancer, but luckily it was nothing but a lymphnode reaction. :D  
><strong>

**I'll try to answer later, but my mom gave me an allergy pill (for allergies I Didn't know I had) and I'm so drowst. At 7 at night. -_-  
><strong>

**Sistergrimm97  
><strong>


	11. Jason II

"What will you do?"

"We will prepare for battle, of course." Reyna said it as though it should have been blatantly obvious. Jason realized that after the week's events, it was quite ridiculous of him to ask. He felt like a kid who had asked a silly question in class and his teacher was reprimanding him for it.

"You make sure Octavian doesn't skewer the Greek campers, alright?" He asked, eyes darting over to the camp's Augur, who was fighting with Michael Yew from the Apollo cabin on archery. The Greek demigod looked like he was about to pull out his own and use the Roman as a moving target practice. "They're really no different than us, I promise. Most of them are nice."

Reyna looked thoughtful for a moment, a slight smile forming on her lips. "If you bring everyone back safely to camp, including Percy's girlfriend, I will make sure neither Greek nor Roman blood is shed. Deal?" She held up an outstretched arm, to which he took.

"Deal." She pulled him into a tight hug, and then she turned her back and left.

Jason watched her leave, and his thoughts were interrupted by a low whistle. He turned to see a punk-rock style girl with her hands on her hips, eyebrows raised as she ventured a peek into their conversation. Her lips were pursed in a brooding expression, as though she had been given one of life's bigger mysteries; being a Hunter, this probably confused her to no end. For Jason, it wasn't much different.

"So," Thalia said, looking him straight in the eye, "looks like you've got a bit of a problem, little brother."

He nodded. "We have to get to Rome, save Annabeth and whoever else was in that prophecy, find the doors of death and somehow get this Nico di Angelo kid back. How are we supposed to do all that, Thal?"

Her eyes had widened in shock; then, as if she had been thrown into the crowd of a comedy show, she threw her head back and laughed like a hyena. She held her stomach, her laughter as genuine as a single red rose, and her brother would've laughed along with her if he hadn't been so confused.

"Oh my gods, Jason!" She giggled, wiping at her eyes as though she had tears in them. "Do you know who you remind me of?"

"Who?"

"Percy. You guys have two very different personalities; you're serious, mature, and like a roman, you're able to make the hard sacrifices. Percy is a complete moron and he's way too loyal to ever think about a quest before his friends, but he also gets the job done. Sometimes it takes him a couple of slip ups before he catches on that something's wrong with the current plan, but he'll get it eventually."

"So how are we alike at all?"

"You're both oblivious." Jason was about to ask her what she meant by that, but she cut him off with ease. "I've got to go now; the Hunters and I need to speak with lady Artemis about hiring new recruits. We're going to need everyone we can get if we want a chance against Gaia." She gave him a quick hug, and looked over to Percy, who was talking with Grover. She hesitated, before muttering under her breath something about not interrupting, and then turned on her heel and ran into the forest without looking back.

The son of Jupiter looked around, sighed, and then walked over to Grover and Percy. He was the last person he needed to say goodbye to, and he was sure he'd be reprimanded by Piper if her didn't. The satyr was good company anyhow, and he could tell by the way that Annabeth and him had looked for the son of Poseidon, the two were best friends.

As he got closer, he began hearing words float around, and he stopped short when he realized one was distressed, the other calm.

" – have to come, Grover!" Jason heard Percy say desperately. The new praetor was waving his arms around wildly, his face pale. "You can't just leave me! What about Annabeth? What about Nico? You can't honestly think that –"

"They don't want to see me?" Grover interrupted, smiling slightly. "Of course not; I knew both of them first, if you haven't remembered." At that, both of them started chuckling nostalgically. Jason wondered if, given the right amount of time, he and Leo would be like that.

"True enough, dude, but I still don't understand why you can't come!" Grover placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, and the son of Jupiter realized that the satyr was blinking wildly. Percy shoved his hands in his pocket, looking straight back into his best friend's eyes. If Jason hadn't known what he had been through, he would've thought the dark-haired demigod was always this moody.

"You don't think I want to? I've gone nine months without seeing my best friend, man! I've had to watch Annabeth panic and cry and lose sleep and body weight over your disappearance. I killed my poor hands helping build that boat, and now the stupid thing's destroyed. I gave myself migraines trying to reach you through the empathy link – and I already told you, satyrs don't _get _migraines! I did all that to find you, and you have to leave again."

"Grover, I –"

"No," he cut him off again. "Don't even, Perce. I wanted to do all that stuff; I _wanted _to find you again. You know what makes you leaving this time so different? I know where you are. I know I can contact you if something goes wrong, and vice versa. And especially if you've found Annabeth, I want to know about that.

"This isn't my quest, Percy; I'm not a part of the prophecy. I trust Leo, Piper and Jason to look after you. Hazel and Frank too, judging by what I've seen them do. I'll find something else to do, maybe train some of these sa – I mean fauns. Gods, they're dense. They remind me of you."

"Hey!" Percy protested, face going beet red. "I am not dense. And I do not need people to look after me!" Grover must have shown him something in his mind, because Jason watched as the son of Poseidon's face went blank for a moment. Then, as though a wind had whistled through his head, it was replaced by a sheepish grin, one a girly-girl would wear if she had burped without covering her mouth. "Alright, let's not tell anyone else about that, got it?"

Grover threw his head back and laughed heartily, a sound that had gotten deeper in the nine months Jason had known him. The group was silent for a moment, and then the best friends embraced each other, a tight, meaningful hug that meant _I'll see you soon_.

"Jason! Percy! Guys! _Oh my gods_!_" _

The other two broke apart, and Jason spun around wildly. Leo and Piper were speeding down the hill at top speed. They wore expressions of shock and excitement, and they're feet were a blur as they skidded to a halt in front of the trio, their eyes gleaming like a polished diamond.

"Boat – appeared – where did it – holy Hephaestus!" Piper was breathing loudly as though she had just finished a marathon, and Leo was forming his usual incoherent babbling.

"Deep breaths, Valdez! What is it?" Leo went to answer, but the only girl in the group cut him off. "The _Argo II_, it's…" She ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head in amazement. "Come look."

Jason turned around and glanced at Percy nervously. His face was grave, but when he met the blonde-haired teen's eyes Percy seemed to understand. They both began sprinting back towards the hill, and upon reaching the peak, scanned the Field of Mars like a sailor surveying the waters.

Percy gasped, stumbling back a bit. "What? That's not possible…" Jason ignored him, his jaw going slack. The remains of the _Argo II _were gone; there were no burning boards, no smoking scrap metal and certainly no smouldering pile of debris.

There was, however, a golden dragon's head perched atop a dark wood boat. It sparkled in the sunlight, freshly waxed and looking like an exact, if not better, replica of another boat. There were silver bars rimming the deck as safety guards, and parachutes as well as lifeboats and buoys fastened onto them like saddles every five meters. A crow's nest and navigations room stuck out on deck like mountains lining a horizon. Windows were positioned on a level that was neither too high nor short enough that water pressure would shatter them when it cut through the waves like a powerboat. A white mast was rustling in the slight breeze, gleaming like the foam on the edge of the surf in summer.

Whether he and his friends were all hallucinating the same thing – which would have been unnatural and disturbing – Jason was sure of one thing; the _Argo II _hadn't been there yesterday, and it was today.

There was a long pause, as though they were all holding their breaths. After what seemed like the Greek and Roman empires had come and gone, Grover finally said, "Well, that takes care of transportation."

Piper spun on him wildly, her face shocked. "What; we didn't have transportation before?" The satyr shook his head sheepishly. The group groaned, and Jason smacked the palm of his hand to his face, feeling a headache coming on. Rolling his eyes upward, he heard incoherent stuttering coming from his best friend. Gods only knew how hard Leo had worked on that boat; he had been so devastated that all the extra time they had put into it was wasted the moment they touched – well, crashed – into the Roman camp. Jason put his hand on Leo's shoulder, giving him a reassuring shake as if to say, _at least it's back. _

"Wait a minute," Percy protested, eyeing it suspiciously. "I'm pretty sure I wasn't dreaming when this boat crashed. How is it…" His voice wavered and trailed off, his eyes catching something on the boat. Jason followed his gaze, his eyes no doubt deceiving him. There, on the pure white mast was a symbol that hadn't been there earlier.

It was a pounding table, the one Cyclopes pound swords into shape on in the forges. A horse was perched atop of it, two hooves on the table and two up in a running position. To the left of the table, there was a spear with a skeletal hand grabbing it from the very Earth, dirt spilling at the foot of the arm to emphasize the return from the grave. To the right, a helmet that was almost transparent, visible because the sun shone down on it in gracefully. Three different birds were airborne on the mast; an eagle, a dove, and an owl. When the mast rippled, the animals all looked as though they were animated, the wings on the aviators and the hooves on the steed moving gracefully like a ballerina on stage.

"No way!" Leo gasped just loud enough for everyone to hear him. "Our parents, cooperating on something for once? That's like… Harry Potter and Voldemort working together. It just doesn't happen!"

The group nodded in agreement, something that rarely, if ever, happened – there was always at least one person who would disagree. Jason stared at it in awe. No one else moved; he could relate to the feeling. Gods weren't supposed to interfere, but on the rare occasion they did, they tended to make it worth while. Jason had realized that last year during their quest to save Hera.

The son of Jupiter shouldered his backpack, trudging off down the hill toward the boat. "Wait, Jason!" Piper called after him. "Where are you going?"

He hardly looked back as he replied, "We can't just sit around doing nothing, can we? We have to save Annabeth!"

He could hear nothing but the howl of the wind; then, simultaneously, footsteps resounded in the fresh air.


	12. Jason III

Jason was feeling unnaturally anxious in the sky.

It wasn't like his sister's phobia of heights; quite the contrary, he loved looking down and not being able to see civilization. Being able to come so high up in the air just by willing it to be so, without any mechanical or technological help, made him feel like a survived cancer patient. There were no limits up here, where the atmosphere was thinnest and the stars at their brightest; here, he felt the sweet taste of freedom, the sense of infinite adventure at every corner. He could spend hours up here at a time, and his ever-slowly regaining memory reminded him that there had been a time he had freaked out Reyna out for disappearing so suddenly after an especially strenuous Praetor meeting. He loved the sky, where there had never been any boundaries; for as he long he lived, there had not once been a time when he felt uncomfortable up here. Until now.

His feet lightly touched onto the floorboards of the _Argo II, _and he looked to his left and right, disoriented at the unease he felt throughout his veins. _What is wrong with me? _He thought to himself, running a hand through his rough blonde hair in exasperation. The night air was calm; not a single breeze to give him goose bumps, yet it wasn't hot enough that the humidity was uncomfortable. The sky was dotted with twinkling stars and far-off planets, each one different from the others like snowflakes on a chilly December's day. The boat rocked lightly back and forth, creaking every once in a while as the newly fixed planks settled into each other.

Jason figured that was the problem; he hated sailing. For as long as he could remember, no one had ever allowed him to step foot on a boat, explaining how dangerous it was for a son of Jupiter to cross the world atop Neptune's territory. He wasn't complaining; he could swim for sure, but try to put him anywhere near the ocean and his feet suddenly wouldn't bring him within a fifty-foot radius of the crashing waves on the shore.

He grabbed the edge of the boat, looking up into the dark night sky. Things had been so intense for the past eight – or nine, Jason honestly stopped keeping track – months, that he had forgotten that the only people who seemingly had the weight of the world on their shoulders were him and his friends. He sighed, his knuckles white against the metal railings. If he thought he had it bad, then he probably didn't understand what it felt like for Annabeth or this Nico di Angelo kid. Jason had his friends backing him up; they didn't.

So lost in thought was he that he paid no attention to the sleeping quarters' door creak open and soft footsteps make their way over to him.

"You too, huh?" Percy asked, crossing his arms on the metal railing and resting his chin atop of them. Jason glanced over at him; the moonlight made him look as pale as the vampires he saw on TV, his sea green eyes wide open as they stared into the endless twinkling sky. His eyes were rimmed with lines that proved he smiled a lot more than other people, sort of like a human Cheshire cat. The son of Jupiter bet if he had met him under different circumstances, the laughter he had heard in the dining pavilion earlier that day would've been as common as a squirrel in an oak tree park.

Jason sighed. "I hate being on boats. Even when they aren't in the water, it feels like –"

"Like you're going to get blasted right then and there?" His companion finished, understanding reflected in the white of his eyes. He smiled slightly, and the Roman had nearly forgotten that he was a child of one of the three most powerful gods in both Greek and Roman mythology. "Don't worry; I can't even look at an airport without feeling nauseous."

Jason groaned in agreement, running a hand through his stubborn, unruly hair. "How can you even stand to be up here in the sky, then?" He knew what it felt like to be denied access to territory that took up so much of the Earth and its atmosphere. The blonde haired teen had barely seen any of the two thirds of the world in which was taken up by water. He couldn't imagine not seeing the world from thousands of feet up in the air.

"I guess flying boats are… I don't know, no man's land?" Percy stood up straight before pulling himself up onto the edge of the boat. He looked down, and Jason saw his face pale a bit before the youth took a deep, shuddery breath and pulled one knee close into his chest. "It feels a little better, listening to the creaking of the boat like it's being hit by the waves. Annabeth used to tell me that with the amount of time I spent in the water, she was surprised she wasn't dating a naiad."

At Percy's wistful expression, Jason cringed inwardly. "This is killing you, isn't it?" The son of Poseidon nodded, his eyes locked outward. "Dude, you have no idea." He replied. "I've known Annabeth since we were twelve; we may have fought a lot, but it was never something that could ever come between us. We've been friends since I first found out I was a demigod. I don't know how many times I've almost lost her, and it's scarier every time."

"I don't know if you want to hear this, but… do you know who you remind me of right now?" Percy glanced at him, a mix of curiosity and longing present as he raised an eyebrow, silently urging him to continue. Taking a deep breath, Jason said, "Annabeth. I think I met the two of you at the worst time, because quite honestly, there is no way either of you can be this… broken. The way you're acting over her disappearance, it's a mirror image of how she acted."

He hadn't meant for his words to inflict pain, but Jason cringed inwardly when Percy flinched, his left eye twitching for a second. Then, all of the pain blew out from his eyes like the air out of a helium balloon.

"I know Annabeth can take care of herself." He said softly, his voice just barely understandable above the wind. "She ran away from home when she was seven, didn't find your sister and Luke until months later. Even then, she had tried to attack them; she had stabbed a Cyclops in the foot to save them and Grover." At that, Percy chuckled, and Jason humorously imagined a seven year old Annabeth Chase hacking away at a one-eyed brute's foot. "Annabeth and I… we've always been each other's peace of mind, even when we bug the Hades out of each other. As long as I know she's okay, then I don't care what happens to me. The gods say it's my fatal flaw; I say it's my overly big heart."

The Greek made a heart with his hands, and put it on his chest, overdramatically pushing outwards. The two shared a moment of laughter, a sound that filled the night air pleasantly. As it died down, Jason looked at him and said, completely serious, "You're a lot smarter than you look."

Percy grinned. "I get that a lot. At least I can choose between two girls, though. You seem like quite the ladies' man, eh, Grace?" By Percy's loud guffaws, he could only begin to guess at the deep shade of red that had engulfed his face. Jason opened his mouth to protest that, no, he was in no way a chick magnet, when the boat lurched, throwing Percy off the edge of the boat with a sharp yelp from the teen.

Reacting faster than he thought was humanly possible Jason caught his own fall, latched onto the railing, and threw himself off the _Argo II. _With one hand still on the metal bars, the other snatched the collar of his new friend's black plaid shirt. The son of Jupiter gritted his teeth, holding on with palms abnormally sweaty. His shoulder sockets yanked themselves from the sudden weight they were forced to hold, tearing out a yelp of pain from the dangling teen. Percy was speaking slightly hysterical, screaming something about how the gods just _loved_ to give him heart attacks and make him choke on gum. _At least one of them is dislocated, _he thought to himself. Jason assumed that was what all that hacking was about. Thank the gods Percy was light, or they both would've been thrown off into the dark night.

Flying was out of the option; being Jupiter's son wasn't going to save the son of Neptune if he let go of the boat. He had been told of Percy's adventures, and he vaguely remembered that his father had threatened the teen with a lightning bolt to the face more than once. If he even tried to float them back onto the deck, Percy wasn't going to be the only one zapped like a mosquito.

"Jason," said mosquito called, "as much as I appreciate you catching me, I have a favour to ask." Jason raised an eyebrow as he tightened his grip around the banister and the other teen's collar.

"Yeah, and what's that?"

"Do _not _let me go!"

"Jason? Percy?"

The last voice had come from on deck, and was followed by a gasp and pounding footsteps. Leo's face popped up, eyes widening as he took in the sight of his two friends. Jason head never been so glad to see him; it was as if the gods had conceived the son of Hephaestus to keep a close eye on his best friend.

"Oh my gods guys, how in Hades did you get down there?" He yelled, his voice struggling to be heard over the wind that had suddenly turned into a raging howl. The demigod had heard a similar roar come from the mouth of the titan Krios; it was the sound of nearing destruction. "Wait, hold on, let me get the rest of the gang. They should probably –"

"Leo!" Jason and Percy shouted in unison.

"Oh, right." The Latino elf look-alike grabbed Jason by the wrist and tried without success to pull the two of them back on board. Luckily for the two dangling over the edge of the boat, Jason's grip had all but loosened from the railing. He sucked in a breath made for a dolphin coming up after a half hour of no air, eyebrows furrowing like a ferret's tail as he watched Leo slip and fall on his butt. _At least the ground can catch him if he falls, _he thought to himself as he ignored the pain in his shoulder blades.

"Can you hurry, man?" Percy asked, his face clammy and sheet white. "I don't think either of us is in a comfortable position right now."

"I'm working on it!" Leo snapped, picking himself up and rubbing his likely bruised backside. He sprinted off into the other direction, leaving Jason to stare after him stupidly.

"Please tell me I did not just hear him run off," Percy said, his eyes wide. Jason returned the look, his mouth ajar like a pothole in the ground. The son of Neptune groaned, his face turning the slightest green. Jason's hand was beginning to shake like a drill, his glistening hands making it difficult for him to hold on for much longer.

"Perce, I don't know if I can hold on for –"

His hand slipped.

The two demigods went freefalling ten, twenty, thirty feet. Jason grabbed Percy from behind and thought, _we're going to die if I try this, but I don't have much choice. _

He closed his eyes, thought about wind currents and how they would bend to his will, and then… nothing. There was a painful tug from the perimeter of his stomach, and a rush of wind, and suddenly the silence of the night overtook them once again.

Jason was just thinking to himself that the tug had felt different from other times when he heard Percy give a whoop of joy. Opening his eyes, the sky-son looked around him, the stars in the misty night sky just barely visible through the clouds; they were twinkling like diamonds, but they weren't rushing past them in an upward motion.

His sister's face flashed before his eyes, Thalia's features much less defined and her two front teeth missing. She had a childish grin on her face and she giggled as though she was watching Elmer Fudd chase after Bugs Bunny. Her skin was transparent as big as the full moon, her pupils matching the colour of the sky.

"Don't worry, little brother," her voice was higher and showed signs of inexperience and love. "The stars have always brought kids like us to the right place. They're kind of like the trail of bread crumbs from Hansel and Gretel; they'll lead us home."

The young Thalia distorted as though she were made of an Iris message and disappeared into the clouds, leaving Jason to wonder what home she had meant, exactly. Slowly but surely, he noticed that Percy and him were moving upwards. Jason realized that the unfamiliar tug he had felt in his stomach was the rope now securely fastened around him and the other demigod.

"Thank the gods," Jason muttered to himself, the wind carrying his words down to Percy, who chuckled with relief.

"No kidding, man." The son of Poseidon replied, a little bit of colour returning to his chalk cheeks. "If there's one thing I hate more than Smelly Gabe, it's flying."

"Who?"

"Never mind."

A pair of burly hands latched onto the back of Jason's shirt, and he and Percy were thrown unceremoniously onto the deck. They groaned, each rubbing their sore arms and stomachs. Frank – who Jason was guessing picked them up and tossed them back on deck – ran up and gave them each of them golden ambrosia squares.

"Eat that carefully," Frank warned, his voice deep, yet as gentle as a charm speaker's. "You have a dislocated shoulder, Jason." That explained the popping earlier. Slowly, Jason surveyed his surroundings; the sleeping quarters were thrown open, and the rest of the group ran out, their faces plastered with shock. Piper gasped, her eyes wide with unease.

"Are you guys okay?" She all but shrieked. She took a deep breath, her face calming down for a moment, only to fly open again all too quickly when the boat shuddered once again from another attack. The group fell to the ground with groans and thumps, and Jason felt as though he were a crouton in a salad spinner. Disoriented and still mending, he picked himself up with great difficulty, holding onto the railings as a wave of nausea passed through him like prune juice. Jason looked out to the night air, down towards the ground, but the thick clouds made observations as easy as going through the Underworld unnoticed.

Piper was the first to recover, or at least the first to join him at the edge of the boat. Out of the corner of his eyes, Jason saw her lean slightly overboard – not nearly enough for her to topple over if the boat lurched again, but enough to freak her friend out. Jason reached out and pulled her towards him protectively, and he could feel the heat rising onto her face. She looked at him questioningly, but he kept his eyes trailed on the sky.

"Jason…" Piper asked anxiously. "What are you doing?" Again, her question went unanswered as the blonde teen used his free hand to clear the skies. He made a sweeping motion with his hands, as though he were wiping dust off of an old book, and the clouds dispersed. What he saw below made his stomach churn. Piper gasped. "What… what _is _that?"

It wasn't a person, that much was for sure; and as the rest of the group each came up, their faces all showing disbelief, Jason felt a lump tie in his throat. Thousands of feet down below, was something Jason had only ever heard of in the stories Lupa used to tell him of the great Archimedes. It made his skin turn to ice and his eyes go hard – if Gaia had found the knowledge to build these, then their chances were less great than Jason had thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! I know, late update, I sincerely apologize :S I have finals coming up, so don't expect me to update anytime soon! I can tell you this though...<br>**

**CLIFFIEEEEEEEEEEEE. :D  
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**Suckers. XDDDD  
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**Seriously though, I had so much fun writing this chapter. The next few are gonna be extremely action-packed, and it's - drumroll please - a new point of view! WOOHOOOOOOOO! :D I did not enjoy writing in Jason's POV. I love him and all, he's a boss, but I just don't relate to him like everyone else. Please, no one hurt me! :( I just... ugh. I don't know. DX  
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**Anyways, happy June 1st everyone! :D  
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**~sistergrimm97  
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	13. Annabeth IV

The word _lost_ is defined in the dictionary as being unable to find one's way or not knowing one's whereabouts. It also states that _lost _means that one is unable to find someone or something, such as a misplaced remote controller for the television or your best friend who was lost in a sea of people at a concert.

Annabeth was both of those definitions of lost, and for many a reason she was both livid and defeated by that fact. She stumbled through Teutoburg Forest, hair sticking up multiple directions as though she was Medusa and her golden locks were reptiles slithering upwards. Her ripped Camp Half-Blood t-shirt was hanging together by the few presentable spots on the orange cotton, and her jean shorts were caked in a mix of dried blood and gold dust. Her knees were covered in grime, resembling a pig that had just rolled in a vat of mud. Her shoes were no better.

Leaning against a mossy maple tree, she dropped to the ground and took in deep, powerful breaths. She pushed her palms into her eyelids and slid them downwards, elongating the dark circles under her bloodshot eyes. Her mouth felt dry and rough, the hot summer's day continuously taking its toll on Annabeth as though she were a slug being salted. Her lips cracked, and she groaned as she was reminded that she hadn't had anything to drink in nearly twelve hours.

The demigod looked skyward, her eyes widening as she realized the clouds had turned a brilliant mix of pink and orange. She cursed herself for not paying attention to the time and stood up swiftly, staggering for a moment and clutching at her side with a slight grimace. Annabeth raised her shirt and found that the makeshift bandage Faunus had put on her was oozing down her hips like a slug, a red tinge mixed in with the damp leaves. Crinkling her nose in a mixture of pain and annoyance, she dismissed it like one dismisses a bug in the corner of the room – trying to ignore it but knowing full well it was there – and slowly continued onward.

She walked aimlessly, holding on to branches for a slim support as much as she possibly could. Night time descended upon her much faster than she had realized and soon, the crunching of the grass underneath her feet mixed in with the nocturnal noises. Water lapsed in from Donop's Pond, which she figured she had walked half of the perimeter and was now on the opposite side. The small waves were pushed by the cold night air and the breeze snaked its way in and out of her torn garments like a weaving basket. It smelled of sleeping maple trees and a fresh air one could only get in the middle of nowhere. Annabeth heard crickets encircling her like a snare, and woodland creatures ruffled the foliage as though they were playing their own unique maracas. Everything was a near pitch black, and the daughter of Athena was grateful for the twenty-twenty vision her aviator father had graced her with. The goddess of wisdom had given her the eye colour and all the half-godly quirks, but Frederick Chase had most definitely handed down just as many characteristics to her.

Annabeth nearly jumped out of her skin when an owl hooted not ten feet from where she was. Looking towards the noise, she spotted the source and immediately felt a rush of relief. The bird was staring at her intently was deep green eyes, and the demigod realized, with a feeling of absolute hope and excitement, that her mother was watching over her. Not only that, but the piercing green reminded her of what she had to look forward to when she returned – Percy.

_If I return, _she thought miserably to herself. She immediately shook the thought out of her head. _Don't think like that; it won't get you out of this mess and it certainly won't keep you alive. _Still, she couldn't help but wonder, could she make it the night? Someone had always backed her up on a quest – the one time they hadn't, she had gotten kidnapped and thrown under the sky, literally.

That was different, though; that wasn't a quest given to her by an insane goddess of marriage. That was a failed plan to defeat an insane French guy and bring two of the most powerful demigods back to Camp Half-Blood.

Annabeth sighed, squinting into the shadows as best she could. Her stomach groaned with hunger and the young teen tried to ignore it as best she could. There was pounding between her eyes and she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and rest, but she knew if she did that there was a possibility of never opening them again. She had heard many stories from the Apollo cabin back at camp of people sleeping with a concussion and never waking up again. She wasn't sure if what she had was even as bad as a migraine, but she knew that she wasn't risking the chance.

Annabeth's legs grew sore, her breathing quicker and more shallow as she tripped and stumbled over rocks and upturned tree roots. She felt a sharp pain shoot up her right ankle as her feet were encased in an entanglement of vines and hit the dirt hard. Clutching her pounding head and cursing to herself in Ancient Greek, the demigod examined her ankle. She breathed a great sigh of relief as she wiggled her toes and applied pressure on it.

"Thank the gods," Annabeth murmured to herself as she kept walking. "I would've been a sitting hydra snack all alone in these woods if –"

A whistle of air, followed by branches breaking, cut her sentence off in half. Annabeth's senses went haywire, alarm bells going off in her head. She pushed herself against the nearest tree and quietened her breathing – she knew an arrow being shot when she heard it. The Apollo cabin – bless their healing powers, she owed Will Solace her life – had to have the most accurate snipers in the world. Crossbows, longbows, compound bows (don't even get Chiron started on those; he thought they were much too powerful), any kind of bow you could think of. Annabeth, on the other hand, preferred hand to hand combat and only used long range at a last resort.

A soft thud resonated to her left, and Annabeth silently pulled out her dagger, its metal scraping as soundlessly as a slug against her sheath. Crouching down and tucking her elbows into herself, she took refuge in a patch of hydrangea bushes. Pulling two branches away from her line of sight, the demigod took in the sight of more trees and other foliage. It was completely quiet for a moment before she watched an arrow lodge itself into a tree trunk. Upon closer inspection, Annabeth noticed that there was the smallest fiery red dot underneath the tip of the arrow.

The daughter of Athena bit back a gasp; it was rare for even a child of Apollo to hit with that kind of deadly accuracy, yet Annabeth had watched the arrow fly from deep within the forested area and sail straight into the target like a bird to a clean new window. The sound of crunching feet caused the onlooker to hide deeper into the white hydrangeas. A pale splinter of moonlight hit the tip of the arrow and glowed as though it were made of pure magic.

The footsteps grew closer; out of the shadows, a young girl appeared. Annabeth was struck by the newcomer's age – she couldn't have been more than thirteen, and she was hitting triple A archery shots like it was no big deal. The girl had lengthy light brown hair that rippled with every step she took, and the demigod couldn't tell if her hair was straight or wavy. She looked a lot taller than the daughter of Athena had been at that age, but besides the clothes she wore, Annabeth couldn't see what she looked like because her back was giving her the cold shoulder. She could make the converse logo paling against red sneakers and a faint silhouette of some dark wash jeans that flared off at the bottom. The girl wore a red and white striped hoodie, and Annabeth couldn't help but immediately think of the old picture book she played as a child where she had to search for someone lost in the crowd.

The newcomer had a sheath of arrows draped across her back and a long, dark green bow that looked like the training ones they used back at the camp. She reached out, ripped the arrow from the bark of the tree as though she were pulling a toothpick out of ice cream, and stood there as though she were examining the tip with disgust.

Annabeth watched as she knocked an arrow and aimed in the opposite direction for several long moments. Just as she was wondering whether or not the girl was waiting for prey or simply testing out her strength, the demigod couldn't tell.

Quick as a flash, the girl's feet pivoted, and her bow spun around and let the arrow encased in its string fly straight towards Annabeth. The daughter of Athena stood there in shock as she looked at the tip of the arrow mere inches from her face, ensnared like a cocooned butterfly in the branches.

"You might as well come out," the girl called from where Annabeth could no longer see her. "I only miss when I want to; if you try to hurt me, I'll have an arrow flying faster than you can say _eep._" The demigod slowly and sheepishly made her way out of her hiding spot, looking at the other girl warily. Her face was illuminated by the moonlight through the trees, and Annabeth saw a torrent of freckles across a pixie nose that was hovering over full, pink lips. There was a white headband in the girl's hair and bangs that went straight across her forehead. She looked as though she were beginning the development of curves and had strong muscles to prove her point as a top notch archer.

"Who are you?" She asked Annabeth, who was mapping out plans of escape, battle strategies and weaknesses against strengths.

"Who are _you?_" Annabeth countered, feeling outrageously irritated. It was the middle of the night, she had been through Hades and back today, she hadn't eaten or drank anything since this morning, and quite frankly the gash on her side was pulsing uncontrollably with pain as fresh as a searing hot pan.

"Oh, please," her opponent pointed her bow and arrow towards the ground, relaxing her grip on the string. "I can tell a demigod the moment they come in range; you're obviously not used to people pointing it out, are you?" Her last statement was brought on when Annabeth's entire being stiffened. _How could she, a mortal, have known that? _The blonde-haired teen thought to herself. However, the girl knew about demigods and there was obviously no point in trying to deny it.

"What gave it away?" Annabeth barked. "The ripped clothing or the fact you can see my dagger flickering back and forth from a normal object?"

The stranger's response caught her off guard. "Look, I can't _see _what you're seeing; all I know is that I can smell demigod blood coursing through your veins. I tracked you through careful listening and feeling the sound waves you made when you crept up to spy on me or how your harsh breathing is like shouting 'Find me, I want to be caught!'"

Annabeth was just about to put the girl in her place when something stopped her. The girl's eyes stared back into her grey ones, but it was as though they were looking through her. They blinked, but there was a lack of black. Before she could stop herself, she gasped in shock.

"You…" Annabeth stuttered. "You're… you're blind." The empty light blue eyes rolled upwards and she looked towards the demigod.

"I don't know which godly immortal conceived you, but you don't seem to be in good health. I can smell blood coming off of you from a mile away, and…" the girl's eyes widened. "My gods, do I smell giant on you?"

Annabeth blushed, pulling Cacus' pants from her back pocket. Thank the gods it wasn't just her imagination. She watched as the archer touched her hand to the ground and closed her already dark eyes. Waited until she saw a huge grin break across her face, and breathed a sigh of relief as she watched her let out a whoop of excitement. Her eyes, however lifeless they might be, seemed to be filled with a joy Annabeth had nearly forgotten people could have.

"You have to come with me to my home and tell me everything!" the girl latched onto her arm and began tugging her this way. Annabeth let her pull her along for a moment before yanking free.

"Look," she snapped, "I have been halfway across this world and attacked by three different kinds of monsters today, talked to a god I thought disappeared and have been running around this forest trying to find civilization! I have probably had the worst day of my life and you expect me to just go with you! I don't even know who you are!"

The girl kept looking straight through Annabeth, unblinking, unnerving. Suddenly, she looked less like a confident girl and more like a scared thirteen year-old.

With about enough confidence as the demigod could tell she had just barely managed to rake through her shaky voice, the girl said, "My name's Saskia Bonverre. Daughter of Gilles Bonverre and Irene Desjarlais. Legacy to the god Apollo on my father's side and the goddess Persephone on my mother's side."

**, you finally get to meet Saskia!**

**Okay, I'm SO sorry for the long wait; I had exams and I'm so into _Legend of Korra _it's not even funny. I sort of, kind of... may have possibly missed a section in my English final and gotten a C+. FML. (sorry if that's offensive, I'm a straight A student who does four sports, drama, and is my class' grade rep on our student council team. I'm very high maintenance.) q_q  
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**I just... this is such an output for my feelings, and I totally love that you finally met Saskia! I've been waiting for that for a long, long time my dear readers. A LONG TIME!  
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**Alright, it's quarter after one, time to sleep. Night guys! :huggle:  
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**Seaotter007 of dA  
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**Sistergrimm97 of  
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